Hats off to the staff of a Kansas pizza restaurant who have managed to make the best of a bad situation after their employee tip jar was stolen.

On an otherwise ordinary Friday evening, teenage thieves swiped the employees' hard-earned tips from a bowl that was sitting on the front counter at Stone Oven Pizza in Wichita Falls.

But as the culprits made a run for it, they left behind a Justin Bent Rail cowboy hat, size 7 1/8, usually worth at least $100 or more.

So instead of stewing over the theft, co-owner Ryan Thomas came up with a unique idea: auction the cowboy hat and donate the proceeds to the three employees who lost their gratuities. 

Thomas announced the auction on Stone Oven's Facebook page, sharing the story of the theft together with pictures of the hat that was left behind. 

'Last night, our crew ran into an incident where some teenagers stole the tips out of the tip jar… However, luckily enough, they left this hat… We’re not a big fan of hats around here, however, we know the beautiful community of Wichita Falls is, and we would like to open up an auction…' the restaurant wrote.

'The highest bidder by Tuesday afternoon will win the prize of this authentic cowboy jicama-giga! All proceeds will be divided evenly between the three team members that lost out on Tips last night!' 

Within hours, the post garnered 20,000 impressions and an outpouring of support from the community. 

By Monday evening, bidding for the cowboy hat had reached $160 but with dozens of others offering to chip in extra to make up for the lost tips. 

Thomas learned about the theft just as the restaurant was closing. 'I heard about it at midnight. It's frustrating, but we decided to turn it into something positive,' he told the Times Record News.

'I didn't think it would blow up like that. It's really awesome that the community has responded so adamantly,' Thomas admitted.

The responses were as colorful as the situation itself. Many commenters speculated about the so-called 'cowboy' who fled the scene, with one poster remarking, 'It's almost impossible for me to believe a 'real' cowboy would reduce himself to stealing someone's tip money.' 

Another suggested the term 'drug store cowboy' might be more appropriate.

Thomas has filed a police report but remains upbeat about the whole affair.

'Hopefully they'll get a proper punishment,' he wrote, adding, 'Again, we have the hat, so we kind of won?'

Thomas was quick to dismiss calls for harsh penalties for the teens. 

'Cheering for teenagers going to jail isn't really our bag,' he said. 

Instead, he proposed a more fitting consequence: 'They should have to wait tables for an evening, so they understand the work of the individuals they stole from.'

The auction has become a symbol of resilience for Stone Oven Pizza and its employees. 

'This was just a real reminder that the community has our backs and our employees' backs,' Thomas said. 'Whenever something bad happens, Wichita Falls is there to band together.'

The auction deadline will close at midday on Tuesday with the proceeds from the auction split among the employees whose tips were stolen.