Man Steals Costly Liquor Bottle From OKC Restaurant

One act of generosity led to a high-dollar heist at a midtown Oklahoma City restaurant.

Pacific Moon said Friday it allowed two people inside to use the restroom prior to opening. One of them left with an expensive bottle of Cognac.

“That threw us for a loop,” Executive Chef Ivan Norwood said.

Norwood came in early to begin prepping for what would be his third day. He then realized he wasn’t alone in the restaurant.

“Definitely probably a vagrant for sure,” Norwood said. “They just let themselves in.”

They came in through the door to the back bar.

“He’s like I’m just passing by. I wanted to use your bathroom,” Norwood recalled. “I said okay yeah that’s fine go ahead and use the bathroom.”

Security then shows the man and woman leaving through the front. Norwood returned to the back bar to continue prepping.

“We hear a banging noise. We run out and he’s halfway through the door, running,” Norwood said.

In a matter of seconds, the man grabbed a stool and headed for the front bar’s top shelf. It wasn’t just any bottle of liquor he took.

“Top, top shelf. This is top as you can get,” Norwood said. “It’s a $5,000 bottle for our price to buy alone.”

Factoring in restaurant markup, Norwood estimates the theft cost Pacific Moon close to $15,000.

The rare Remy Martin Cognac is called Louis XIII.

While Norwood hopes police catch the culprit, he doesn’t want the incident to change their welcoming culture. It may, however, change a few procedures.

“I think it’s probably necessary for somebody to be in the front and in the back at all times,” Norwood said.

The restaurant hopes a new bottle will arrive in time for its pop-up event this weekend.