Doughnut shop theft story going viral


By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation,

Social media has given small businesses a way to vent everyday frustrations. This was found especially true as nearly 3,000 people have liked a story about a Portland doughnut shop confronting thieves who stole a coffee mug. Here is a synopsis of the story they posted on Facebook.  Sitting outside Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai in Portland one early September day, owner Nate Snell watched a woman leave carrying one of their locally made coffee mugs and climb into a white Subaru wagon bearing a “Run” decal.

“I figured she was just getting some privacy to make a phone call, but when I saw a guy get in the front seat and watched them put on their seatbelts, I knew something was up,” Snell wrote on the Facebook page for the mom-and-pop casual café he owns with his wife, Jamie.

Snell approached the vehicle and asked if the couple if they were leaving. They replied affirmatively.

“I asked them if they would mind giving me back my mug first,” Snell wrote. When the woman reached to the floor and handed him the mug, he snapped a photograph of the pair. “Stealing from small businesses is really lame,” he told them.

Rather than apologizing, the couple looked at him in disgust, Snell wrote.

The Snells opened their doughnut shop to “concentrate on simplicity and excellence” as well as support the local community. Although they could have purchased mass-produced mugs they opted instead to support local artisans.

“Stealing from small businesses hurts real people,” Nate Snell wrote. “Please don’t steal from small businesses. The world is a difficult enough place these days.”

If you like this story and support small businesses against theft, you can “like” the story on Facebook and spread the news.


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