A Mr. Potato Head doll stolen from a Vancouver Island eatery has been returned, but not before the traveling tater tot was photographed being taken on an amazing ‘half-baked’ vacation.
The wayward spud was nabbed about a month ago from the Union Street Grill and Grotto in Courtenay.
Owner Mark Duncan said the toy normally resided in the kids’ play area, but was recently moved to a tree beside a table, where a pair of customers with sticky fingers poached the potato.
“They were sitting there and they were admiring him and when they left they obviously absconded with him and all of us were standing around and couldn't believe that this middle-aged couple would actually take our little guy,” Duncan told CTV News.
Staff believed it was the last they’d ever see of the hot potato, but it turns out the bandits had big plans for the little guy.
The spud was photographed taking the trip of a lifetime, showing up in vacation photos that would make anyone jealous.
The potato head had first-class airline seats, went to a Maroon 5 concert and even took a ride in a helicopter, sitting in the cockpit.
He was no couch potato, with pics being snapped of him beside a bottle of wine on in the desert, and lounging on a bed beside some decidedly adult photos.
In Pictures: The 'half-baked' trip enjoyed by Mr. Potato Head
The toy was recently returned to the restaurant along with a digital frame loaded with pictures and a note that said “Mr. Potato Head's Half-Baked Adventure: Turn me on and enjoy."
"It was a very neat, well thought out thing,” said Duncan. “They obviously planned it.”
The takers of the potato have not come forward, but they have cooked up some buzz for the tiny eatery. Pictures of the elusive potato head have gone viral.
“I told my marketing guy ‘who needs you when I got a potato head?’” Duncan said.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Scott Hurst
