Mosh pit erupts at Denny’s — and a teen gets stuck with the bill, California cops say
A 17-year-old boy got stuck answering for damages to a Denny’s in Southern California last weekend after a punk rock concert and mosh pit damaged the restaurant, police said.
Of the group that rented the room Saturday evening, the teen was the only one left by the time officers responded around 8 p.m. to the 24-hour breakfast spot at 2530 South Bristol St. in Santa Ana, police spokesman Lt. Anthony Bertagna said Tuesday in an email to McClatchy News.
“There was damage done to one of the Denny’s tables,” Bertagna said, adding that “there were no arrests made.”
WACKO, the Southern California punk rock band that apparently played at the Denny’s, posted on Instagram to promote a fundraiser covering the cost of the damages. The band called the 17-year-old “the true hero” of the Denny’s grand slam show, but said he’s “the only one who is left to pay for all the damages done to this Denny’s after we did our thang in thurr.”
The “DENNYS SHOW DAMAGES FUND” GoFundMe page, which at one point only aimed to bring in $600, is no longer accepting donations after raking in more than $1,000.
Bertagna said “this was a civil matter between the group that rented the room and Denny’s,” meaning the person or group that “rented the room will be responsible for the damage that occurred during the event.”
According to Eater, Denny’s representatives denied the restaurant knew what kind of event would be held before renting the space, saying in a statement that “while we do have banquet space available at some restaurants, we do not allow events that can disrupt the dining experience of our guests. The manager was unaware a concert was planned, and the event organizers have been asked to pay for damages.”
Time reported that an “Instagram story compilation video that was shared on Twitter by user Samuel Barreras shows how the dining room of a Denny’s in Santa Ana was transformed into a mosh pit.” That compilation video has been viewed more than 800,000 times.
Barreras wrote that “my condolences go out to the manager, she had no idea what she was getting into.”
WACKO said the teen responsible for the damage could owe as much as $1,000, Time reported.
Videos of the chaos inside the restaurant were also posted on Instagram.
But why have a DIY punk music concert at a Denny’s in the first place?
According to Mashable, “Denny’s became a meme in the DIY scene when a video of a 2013 show resurfaced in 2018, in which the lead singer belted, ‘What the f---’s up, Denny’s?’ in an effort to rile up the crowd. It worked, and the audience began raging.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 2:58 PM.
