Donkey’s Place in Camden is well-known for its iconic cheesesteaks, so good Anthony Bourdain once called them the best in Philadelphia despite their location across the Delaware River.
The South Jersey bar and restaurant is perhaps less renowned for its antique walrus penis bone.
Owner Rob Lucas Jr. told NJ Advance Media that Donkey’s Place has kept a walrus baculum — a bone in the penis of many mammals — behind the bar for as long as he can remember. The popular conversation piece sits alongside a megalodon tooth and several other artifacts.
Diners often come in for cheesesteaks and drinks and ask about what the peculiar bone is. Bartenders let them take a look and a guess before revealing the answer.
But last week, a customer stole the phallic favorite, Lucas said.
“The bartender handed it out for them to figure out what it was. She went to the back to do something else and then one dude stole it,” Lucas said. “We got his picture, but I don’t think he’s from around town.”
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Donkey’s Place posted a TikTok video on New Year’s Eve, featuring the bartender who was involved in the incident urging the customer to return the item, as well as a photo of the alleged thief.
“I wasn’t thinking that they would do something like this,” the bartender said in the video. “If the person that stole it is watching this, please bring it back. Not the same without it.”
Lucas, the grandson of original Donkey’s owner Leon “Donkey” Lucas, said he doesn’t want to press charges following the incident, but simply wants the decades-old item returned to its home on Haddon Avenue. Donkey’s Place hasn’t attempted to contact the man, who used a credit card to pay for his meal.
“We didn’t want to file a police report or anything like that,” Lucas said. “We just want the thing back.”
