Couple allegedly confronts a San Francisco food influencer filming outside Wrecking Ball Coffee. Now the cafe has reportedly barred the pair
Wrecking Ball Coffee has banned a couple after a heated confrontation with a food influencer outside its San Francisco location. The incident occurred late last month, and a video of the interaction has since gone viral. Allie Tong shared the footage on TikTok and Instagram, according to the New York Post. Tong was filming content outside Wrecking Ball Coffee when an older man reportedly began muttering insults at her assistant.
According to Tong, the man said, “you guys are so f—ing stupid” while the pair were there to support a local business. Tong approached the man to ask what he had said, and she claims he repeated the insult. The video shows the camera panning to the couple before the woman appears to lunge at the assistant, seemingly to knock the camera away.
The situation escalated quickly as the woman walked toward the assistant, who backed away while holding a coffee. During the exchange, the assistant stated, “I was just filming because he was making us feel uncomfortable.”The assistant began filming as she felt the man was being verbally abusive, Tong said. The couple was not even in the shot, Tong said, as the video focused on her in the parklet.
The woman apparently seemed determined to get that footage deleted
The woman demanded that the assistant delete the footage. Tong told the outlet her assistant was scratched on the chest. As the couple departed the scene, the woman was seen holding the assistant’s sunglasses, which Tong claims she took. The woman taunted the assistant by saying, “You want this?” and told them to call the police. Tong later shared an update saying the assistant recovered her sunglasses after the woman threw them on the ground.
Wrecking Ball Coffee banned the couple from the premises. Co-owner Joey Cannata said an employee who witnessed part of the incident saw and heard nothing different from what the videos show. “Wrecking Ball has always been committed to providing a safe, friendly and welcoming environment for everyone and we take that responsibility very seriously,” Cannata said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
After social media users identified the pair, Tong posted a second video asking people not to dox or harass them. However, she said she shared the original clip as she did not want the couple treating others the same way without consequences.
Police are looking into it as a possible battery and vandalism case
The San Francisco Police Department confirmed that a report was filed the day after the incident, alleging battery and vandalism. No arrests have been made, and the couple has not been publicly identified. Police said the victim was battered and their sunglasses were damaged, though none of those claims have been tested in court.
Under California Penal Code Section 242, battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence on another person. Simple battery is a misdemeanor that can carry up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. However, a police report is not a criminal charge, and no one has been accused in court.
California’s vandalism law, Penal Code Section 594, covers malicious damage to someone else’s property. When the damage is under $400, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
The couple remains barred from Wrecking Ball Coffee, and any charges would likely depend on whether investigators can identify the unnamed man and woman described in the police report.
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