The Capitol Hill coffee scene is rich. Apparently the gear that makes it happen is valuable enough to steal. Police are looking for a caffeinated thief who walked into the E Olive Way Starbucks Thursday morning and walked out with what East Precinct radio dispatches described as an “espresso machine.”

We’re still trying to sort out if the suspect grabbed a retail home model or somehow hoisted one of the commercial-grade machines from the shop in the heist that went down just before 8 AM. We’re told it may have only been a home machine.

The suspect was last seen walking northbound on Summit with the coffee maker. Earlier, the suspect — described as a black male in his 30s or 40s, wearing a tan hat, tan shirt, black pants, and sunglasses — was seen with a female in a blue Jetta.

A search of the area for the suspect or the machine was not immediately successful. Hopefully police did manage to find some coffee. UPDATE: Police say the Starbucks staff asked the man to put the machine down. He “obliged,” SPD says, and fled. So, not only was it not a big espresso machine but it didn’t even get fully stolen. In other words, nothing happened.

UPDATE: It was a rough start for Capitol Hill-area morning joints. Just after 2 AM, a car slammed into the railing outside 14th and Union’s Skillet Diner. Fortunately, damage to the building was minimal and there were no serious injuries. Police were looking for another vehicle that may have been involved in the incident. Sounds like Skillet opened Thursday without issue.