Kumbah Sarnor, a 36-year-old event planner from Northeast Philadelphia, says a short bathroom trip with her 5-year-old daughter at Silk City ended with their belongings missing from the table. She alleges a server at the Fairmount diner and lounge discarded her jacket, car keys and wallet, as well as three of her daughter’s stuffed animals.
What Sarnor Says Happened
Sarnor told The Philadelphia Inquirer that she and her daughter were away from their table for three or four minutes to use the restroom and returned to find it cleared. She said a server had put their belongings in the trash. In comments to Billy Penn, Sarnor described being in the bathroom for three minutes.
The discarded items included a pink pig, a Squishmallow and a plush Everest from Paw Patrol. Sarnor said nearby customers told her they saw the server use the stuffed animals to wipe down the table before throwing them away. A server retrieved the belongings from the trash, but Sarnor said they were soiled with teriyaki sauce and that her wallet still smelled of it after cleaning.
Sarnor Describes Being Shaken
Sarnor was emotional and visibly shaken after the incident.
Sarnor said a manager gave her paper bags for the soiled belongings and that the diner comped her meal, but she felt management did not handle the situation properly. She also said a server told her the diner’s policy was to throw out belongings if staff believed a table had been abandoned. The Inquirer reported that this policy claim had not been independently verified beyond Sarnor’s account.
What Pennsylvania’s Abandoned-Property Law Covers
Pennsylvania’s abandoned-property statute addresses personal property left after a tenant relinquishes leased premises, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It does not determine whether a restaurant customer’s belongings were abandoned.
Owner Accused of Avoiding Confrontation
Sarnor alleged that she tried to confront Silk City owner Mark Bee in person on Tuesday and that he hid from her, according to her account relayed to the Inquirer. Bee owns Silk City at 435 Spring Garden Street. Bee and Silk City declined to comment directly to the Inquirer, instead referring the paper to a statement the diner posted on Instagram Wednesday night.
In the statement, cited by Billy Penn, Silk City called the incident unacceptable and said: “We sincerely apologize to anyone who has been hurt, disappointed, or affected by this situation.” The diner said it wanted the chance to address the matter responsibly and with care, and confirmed the server involved was no longer employed there. General manager Joe “Joppy” Ferrone also emailed Sarnor. A separate account from the station says he confirmed the employee had been fired following an internal investigation.
Sarnor Says Race and Gender Were Factors
Sarnor, who is Black, described the server as white and told the Inquirer she believed race and gender played a role in what happened. In a separate conversation with Philadelphia Magazine, she said people had messaged her with claims of discrimination and poor customer service at the restaurant. Those accounts have not been independently verified.
Sarnor posted her account soon afterward. The station reported that the post soon went viral, drawing more than 300,000 views and a repost from the popular Instagram news aggregator No Gun Zone. The incident prompted online debate over whether it is reasonable to leave belongings at a table during a brief restroom break and whether staff should have cleared or discarded them without warning.
A Diner Known for Its Nightlife Crowd
Silk City is a diner with a connection to music and the community, according to the Inquirer. At the time the incident surfaced, the diner’s Instagram was advertising a Halloween party celebrating Black music and Black movement.
