You'd be amazed at the amount of stuff people leave behind at the bar. Or maybe you wouldn't be.
Credit cards are frequently left behind, but in most cases (but surprisingly not all!) the owner retrieves them.
But we also end up with a rather large assortment of coats, jackets, hats, gloves, scarves and less frequently, other random items like cameras and purses. Often, the owner never comes back for them.
What do we do with all this stuff? Well, we do have a lost and found box in our office. Credit cards and things like cameras, phones and wallets stay near the register. We usually assume that the owner will come calling for those items quickly.
Coats, jackets, umbrellas and other apparel go upstairs in a tub. We'll hold onto your stuff for a long time. Probably longer than most places would. We like to think that the next day, when the hangover has worn off and you realize you're freezing, that you'll remember where you left your coat and come get it. Some people do. Some people don't.
Eventually, the leftover credit cards are shredded. We've made many attempts, some successful, to identify owners of left-behind cameras and wallets. With clothing, there's virtually no way to find out who it belongs to, so unclaimed property is eventually donated.
Earlier this year, we took a big box of coats, jackets and other apparel to Goodwill. A few weeks ago, we took another pile of winter items to Scotch Fabric Care for their "Share the Warmth" project. They'll clean the items and then donate them to the Salvation Army.
So if you find yourself missing a coat or umbrella after a recent night out at the Sandbar, call us. If we've got it and you can identify it, we'll happily return it to you.