The owner of the Blind Pig was disgusted when, after a hard night's work, he returned to the bar the next morning to find someone had nicked all the notes the night before.

"It's annoying because tips are hard enough to come by now that a lot of people are steering away from using cash and if you're not using cash it's hard to give tips," he said.

"There was at least $30 sitting on top and all that was left when I went back was coins."

This isn't the first time someone has stolen from the tip jar, which gets divided between the three casual workers Mr Vandenberg employs.

"I was gutted for the staff. I do more hours than anyone behind the bar but that's part of being an owner," he said.

"For those guys, they get their award wages or better but the point is, that's something where the customers are saying thank you for the great service and the great drinks and it's important to them.

"By nature, the bigger the tips that are in there, the more they know they've done a great job and keeps them inspired to do a great job. It just pissed me off this bad."

He praised the staff for the work they have been delivering, but will now be forced to change things up with the tip jar to prevent another theft.

"Making great drinks is just a formula," he said.

"It's how you deliver them and how you converse with the customer and they do an unreal job. Putting a lid on or protecting the jar isn't something I should have to do, but I will need to now."

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