A man finds out a cafe has no mayo. Then he leaves, buys gasoline and comes back to set it on fire while children are reportedly inside

A customer at a cafe in southern Spain asked for mayo to go with his sandwich and walked out when the staff had none. He came back carrying a bottle of gasoline, poured it over the bar, and lit it. A Seville court has now approved a prison term for the fire.

According to Dexerto, the man was 50 and visited Las Postas, a cafe in Los Palacios y Villafranca, a town south of Seville, with his son in August 2025. He ordered sandwiches and asked about mayonnaise and ketchup, but employees told him neither was available. He went to a fuel station close by, bought gasoline, and came back minutes later holding a 1.5-liter bottle.

Employees repeated that answer when he asked again about the sauces. Security cameras recorded him spraying the fuel over the bar and lighting it, and customers and workers fled as the flames spread. A staff member put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher, and the man burned his own hand. Owner José Antonio Caballero recalled, “There were young children and elderly people around.” Police detained the man shortly afterward with help from an employee who followed him.

Court accepts reduced prison term

According to EFE, the court’s Third Section in Seville approved a prison term of three years and six months for arson. Prosecutors had first requested 11 years in prison for the arson charge. They lowered that request after the man admitted guilt before the court and deposited more than €9,200 toward the damage, which counted as a mitigating circumstance. The defense and the private prosecutor also agreed to the deal.

Under the ruling, he may not come closer than 500 meters to the cafe for 10 years. He also received a €360 fine tied to two minor counts of assault, according to the coverage. He has been in custody since his arrest, and the time already served will count toward his release date. He did not use his right to a final word at the trial.

Caballero previously called what his staff and customers went through “surreal.” He noted that the bar had no kitchen and that its sandwiches arrived ready-prepared, so it carried no sauces. He stated he could not understand how a missing condiment led to a fire. He also explained that both waiters he asked gave the same answer, and that the man then crossed to the garage opposite.

Some weeks later, Hellmann’s announced in a social media post that it would cover repair costs for the damaged cafe. Caballero thanked the company, and the two businesses planned to work together from then on.

The clash began with a request the staff could not fill, a kind of customer friction that has surfaced before when a server says rude kids get soda water.