A Georgia restaurant owner has been praised for his compassionate response to a burglary at his business after inviting the thief to apply for a job.
Carl Wallace, the owner of Diablo's Southwest Grill in Augusta, shared an image of the culprit in a now-viral Facebook post. The post was accompanied by a security footage image of a hooded individual carrying something out of the restaurant and a photo of the venue's smashed glass door.
'Our burritos are such a smash hit we've got people breaking in at 4 a.m. for their fix. So if ya see our door looking hurricane fabulous at Wheeler Rd this is why,' Wallace wrote. 'To the would-be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues...please swing by for a job application. There are better opportunities out there than this path you've chosen,' he added, sharing his personal phone number for the culprit to get in touch.
'No police. No questions. Let's sit down and talk about how we could help you and fix the road you're on.'
The Facebook post has been liked more than 4,000 times and hundreds have commented, praising Wallace for his compassionate approach. The burglary may even end up benefiting the restaurant as many Facebook users pledged to eat there in the future.
'I hate that this happened to you but your response was a perfect demonstration in humility that we all need. My family loves Diablos and we eat it often. This has cemented our support of your establishment. Prayers for everyone involved,' commented one.
Wallace told WRDW that the fact that the burglary fell over the Easter weekend inspired his reaction. 'Instead of having the normal response of being angry, we decided to reach out, and say this is a bad career path that you're on, and we're willing to offer you a job if you're willing to change what you're doing in life.'
'I can't fix the world, I can't save the world, but I can make a difference in one person's life,' he said. 'So I took that approach … on this Easter weekend, to try to take the Godly approach to the situation.'
But, so far, the burglar hasn't taken him up on his offer.