AUBURN — The owners of the Cibo cafe figured they were doing a nice thing by putting chairs outside so diners could enjoy the spring weather.

Nope.

As the cafe handled a breakfast rush of customers Wednesday morning, someone made off with one of the chairs roughly five hours after it had been placed outside.

“I bought it with my personal cash,” said Corwin Jericho Saint Pierre, manager of Cibo, which is beneath the Auburn Public Library. “It was a very heartbreaking loss as I was very excited to be able to provide outdoor seating for my wonderful customers. Now I have to sit here and wonder how I’m going to be able to put furniture out in the future. It’s just so sad that something as simple as outdoor furniture isn’t safe.”

The theft occurred in daylight, Corwin said, on a busy street with plenty of foot traffic. He said he didn’t think he’d need a security camera in front of the business because it seemed the chance of something getting stolen with all that going on was slight.

Besides, he said, why steal a chair that was placed there for the comfort of others?

“I guess not everyone has honor,” Corwin said.

The theft was not reported to police. When Corwin posted the loss on Facebook, though, a flurry of people commented. Most were just there to deride the brazen theft, although several offered to help raise money to replace the chair.

“Just keep being a loyal customer,” Corwin told them. “I’ll recover the loss soon.”

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