Restaurant customers' cars stolen from valet while dining

An evening meal at an Atlanta restaurant took a turn when customers' cars were stolen, leaving a bad taste in their mouths.

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Teresa Kilborn was dining at Agave restaurant in southeast Atlanta Tuesday night after leaving her car with the valet. When she finished eating, she discovered that her car had been stolen.

"I was pretty shocked," Kilborn told WSB-TV. "I'd had a great night, and so when I walked out to the parking lot, I laughed, because I thought it was a joke. Then, when I realized the car actually had been stolen, I was pretty upset."

Kilborn, however, was not alone.

Around that same time Tuesday night, another customer at the restaurant discovered his car had been stolen as well.

"For someone to come and steal something, it's definitely a violation," Kilborn said.

A police report showed that at some point during the evening, the valet attendant dumped all of the car keys onto the hostess stand and left for reasons he did not explain. The attendant told police he later left the restaurant on a skateboard, not in a stolen car.

Atlanta police are calling him a suspect, but are still looking into whether others could be responsible.

The restaurant contracts the parking service to Prestige Valet.

WSB-TV called Prestige's owner, who said that he was too busy to talk and to call back later. The owner did not answer a later call.

An Agave spokesperson provided the following statement:

"The valet in question has been let go. Considering we have been open for 17 years, we feel fortunate to have had only two incidents with guest parking."

For Kilborn, that was two too many.

"I hope they find my car," Kilborn said. "That would be great."

Meanwhile, police found the other victim's car in College Park, Georgia, using a tracking device. There were some items in that car that could be beneficial to the police investigation, police said.

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