RICHMOND, Va. — Less than a week after the owner of The Magpie asked the person who took a family heirloom home from her restaurant to give it back — the photo was returned. Tiffany Palma-Gellner Lane said the photo arrived in the mail Wednesday afternoon and that she was ready to forgive the person who took it.
“Rejoice! Delia Quinn has been returned!” she posted on Facebook. “Thanks to the city of Richmond for aiding in the return! And thanks to the person who ‘borrowed’ her and had the heart to return it! We all do stupid things sometimes and you are forgiven! Yay!”
Last week someone walked into the bathroom of The Magpie and took a photo of Palma-Gellner Lane’s great-great grandmother. The person who took the photo, left the frame behind.
The photo, which has hung in the bathroom of the restaurant since The Magpie opened three years ago, was taken either last Wednesday or Thursday, Palma-Gellner Lane said.
“The reason it is inside my establishment is because my husband and I have taken so much time and energy to make this an important place for us,” she said. “We live here. We are here hours and hours a day. It’s not just a restaurant, it’s a home.”
Palma-Gellner Lane said the photo took on extra special meaning after the death of her grandmother.
“When she died I found a treasure trove of family history in her closet including a myriad of love letters from my great-grandfather to my greatgrand mother from World War I. These letters and photos are all I have left of my father’s family as my grandmother and father are dead now. This photo is irreplaceable.”
