A waitress chased 2 customers who allegedly skipped out on their bill at a San Antonio taco restaurant, and a co-worker says they attacked her

Dine-and-dash customers are a familiar headache for restaurants, but staff at one San Antonio taco spot say this case went much further. A waitress at Rocky’s Taco House on the city’s South Side is recovering after two customers who allegedly left without paying attacked her outside the restaurant late last month, according to KSAT.

The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. in late September at the restaurant on Pleasanton Road, near Southwest Military Drive. Police say a man and a woman ate at Rocky’s, then walked toward a nearby bus stop without paying. The waitress followed them to the stop and asked them to pay, and that is when the pair allegedly turned on her.

According to a police report, the woman punched the waitress in the nose, and the man hit her in the stomach. The attack happened outside the view of the restaurant’s cameras. The report says the waitress needed medical attention and was bleeding internally, though she has since returned to work. Police are still trying to identify both suspects.

A co-worker says the staff has dealt with walkouts before but never anything like this

Head waiter Chuy Torres, who has worked at Rocky’s for more than seven years, said the restaurant has had its share of customers who leave without paying. “We’ve had our ups and downs of people dining and dashing, but it’s never been to that point,” Chuy Torres said. Torres added that the close-knit staff has been shaken by what happened to their co-worker.

The head waiter also said it is unclear whether the man used a weapon, such as brass knuckles, or only his fist. Staff believed the blow may have damaged her insides, as the waitress was bleeding internally afterward, according to the report. The waitress’s name and age have not been released, though her co-workers say she is recovering and back on the job.

Torres said the waitress was not looking for a fight when she followed the pair outside. Instead, her goal was to see exactly where they went so she could gather as much information as possible for police, he explained. That decision put her face to face with the two customers at the bus stop, where police say the attack took place.

Walkouts like the one at Rocky’s have hit other restaurants, including an Orlando diner where a family skipped out on a $300 bill. However, at the San Antonio taco restaurant, police say the unpaid bill ended with an employee needing medical care after she asked to be paid.

Leaving a restaurant without paying can be charged as theft of service in Texas, and an attack that causes injury can bring assault charges on top of it. The severity of any charges would likely depend on the extent of the waitress’s injuries and whether a weapon was used. However, Torres says that second question remains unclear.

Crime Stoppers has released photos of the man and woman taken from the restaurant’s surveillance video, and it is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to a felony arrest. Anyone who recognizes the pair can call 210-224-STOP (7867), and tipsters can remain anonymous. No arrests have been announced in the case, and police have not released descriptions of the pair beyond those photos.

Police could make an arrest if someone recognizes the pair from the surveillance photos, and both suspects may face assault charges if they are identified.