Four Ohio residents ate $77 worth of food at the West Franklin Boulevard Waffle House, but then left without paying, according to police.

They liked the food, but didn't pay and didn't leave a tip, said Waffle House server Arvellisa Harris-Cole.

"The tip probably was keep your eyes open better," Harris-Cole said.

The four - identified by police as Taylor Rose Temple, 21, and Tori Temple, 23, both of Westerville, Ohio, and Evan James Mulkey, 25, and Lawrence Alexander Hammond, 30, both of Columbus, Ohio, came into the Waffle House at 2010 W. Franklin Blvd. around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, said Harris Cole. They took a table, but also spent a lot of time in the bathroom, which seemed kind of odd to Waffle House workers.

"They were very nice. Gave me a lot of praise for my waffles," Harris-Cole said. "But they were acting kind of weird so we felt like we kind of needed to watch them."

One Waffle House employee had such a premonition that the four might be up to no good that she went outside and took down the license plate number of the minivan they were traveling in, Harris-Cole said.

Workers also noticed the bathroom had a weird smell to it after the women were in there for 20 minutes or more. These weren't normal bathroom odors, Harris-Cole said.

At one point, three of the four left, leaving only Mulkey inside the restaurant, Harris-Cole said. Mulkey told Harris-Cole that the three had gone to the store and would be right back with the money. He would later tell Harris-Cole that the three had been delayed after being stopped by police, but that they would be back soon.

But after a short time Harris-Cole took her eyes off Mulkey. "As soon as I stepped into the back, he took off running," Harris-Cole said.

When police came the Waffle House, workers gave police descriptions of the four along with the license tag number of their van. Harris-Cole said she was told police caught up with the four several hours later.

They were booked into the Gaston County Jail after 1 a.m. Friday on misdemeanor charges of defrauding an innkeeper. In North Carolina, that charge applies to cases where someone eats a meal at a restaurant and then does not pay for the food.

Harris-Cole said she was glad they were arrested. Harris-Cole said when she worked at another restaurant someone came in and ate and then left without paying. In that case, the restaurant manager took the money for the meal out of her paycheck, she said.

Managers at Waffle House have not said anything about taking any of her pay over this incident, she said.

The four charged were released Friday from Gaston County Jail on an unsecured bond. No phone numbers were attached to their warrants. It was not known if they have an attorney.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin.