WASHINGTON – An Alexandria restaurant owner is thanking his neighbor who helped him find his very recognizable food truck, which was stolen last week.
It was the first thing owner Rich Arslan saw on Twitter this morning, a picture of the bright, red food truck.
“It said, ‘Hey @PoppedRepublic did you hear if another food truck was stolen’,” Arslan says.
The red food truck stolen from his neighbor’s Indonesian restaurant, called , turned up in the same place police found Arslan’s food truck last November.
“Clearly there’s some kind of link here. In Alexandria, two trucks go missing and then they show up in the same area in Forestville, Marylnad,” Arslan says.
As soon as he saw the tweet from a follower in Forestville, Arslan called the owner of the truck, Sonny Setiantoko.
“I can see the door of the generator has been broken … The truck has been spray painted over the logo of my company. That’s all I can see from the photos right now,” Setiantoko says of the state of his food truck.
Preliminary news looks good— the Sate Food Truck has been found in PG County
— Popped! Republic (@PoppedRepublic)
“I don’t think we would have been able to find my truck or Sonny’s truck if it wasn’t for all the people out there on social media … Nothing beats the power of the people,” Arslan says.
Both business owners are working with Alexandria police to find the thieves they believe stole both trucks. And they thanked the people and businesses who tweeted about the missing food truck.
Food truck friends: Another food truck stolen last night in Alexandria. Help us find !
— DMV Food Trucks (@DMVFTA)
well not the same lot I'm told but about 1/2 block down the street…coincidence here?
— EricO_703 (@EricO_703)
Bring home the stolen BRIGHT RED on Valentine's Day! See it? Call us 703.746.4444.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD)
Glad that got their wheels back!!
— Hula Girl Truck (@hulagirltruck)
