‘Who steals from the business’ Riverside food truck owner speaks out after generator stolen from truck – WHIO TV 7 and WIO Radio

RIVERSIDE — A food truck owner made a big investment in her business this weekend, only for someone to quickly remove a generator from the back of her truck.

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Nicole Cornette, owner of Billy Gould Bubble Tea, posted a photo on social media of what happened this weekend.

News Center 7’s Brandon Lewis spoke with her on Sunday night and said someone pulled a generator out of the back of her truck where it was sitting next to the US 35.

Cornett said he was driving his food truck home on Saturday when it ran out of gas on US 35 eastbound and stopped near the Woodman Drive ramp. She walked to a gas station and when she returned to her truck her generator was nowhere to be found.

Cornette took to social media on Saturday to let her know what happened.

“I mean, I’m on the side of 35 here, like the bus literally ran out of gas,” Cornette said. “I don’t know. There’s a problem with the gas gauge. It’s right by Exit 35. I’m not kidding. I’ve been gone for ten minutes. I’ve walked. I’ve got a can of gas. Oh, someone stole my generator.”

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She owns a Billy Gold tapioca tea food truck and while driving home after 5:30 p.m.

Cornette said he walked to the nearest gas station and got there in less than 15 minutes. When she returned, she said the generator that was fixed to the rack behind the food truck was gone.

“I honestly left the car,” she said. “I think it was parked in a spot longer than 10 or 15 minutes, but I didn’t expect someone to steal from there.”

Cornette told Lewis that the generator was a big investment in her bubble tea business, costing over $5,000.

“It’s a shame someone saw an opportunity during the 15 minutes I was away and I myself was in danger,” she said.

Cornette has a small generator that allows him to keep the truck running in the meantime.

“The best scenario, in my opinion, is that the generator is returned,” she told Lewis. “Who steals from the business?”

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Since sharing his story on social media, Cornett says he’s been very encouraged by sharing and commenting, and he’s also getting tips from people online.

“It’s like a whole community of people,” she said. “They are really coming together to help me get this generator back. I love them. Great community.”

Cornette told Lewis that witnesses saw the towman loading the generator into a small yellow pickup truck.

Riverside Police confirmed to News Center 7 that a police report had been filed.