NORTH Store Cafe Wonthaggi has had an unfortunate start to the new year after being broken into for a second time.
The café was previously the target of a burglary in November 2022, when thieves took a significant amount of cash including from their tip jar.
And to add to their woes, just as they were about to reopen after having a well-deserved break, crooks broken in again but this time causing more of a nuisance than stealing items.
While the situation is incredibly frustrating for mother-daughter team Fiona and Ally Cengia, who own the business, their spirits were high when the Sentinel-Times visited.
Fiona said during the first incident, the offenders had managed to break in through the rear of the business.
“The tip jar was pretty well full and I had a couple of takings from the day,” she said.
“Then this time (2023) they’ve come through and because there was no money on the premises, they’ve stripped all the lollies, chips and drinks.
“Because we closed for a week and a half everything was spick and span ready to go to reopen.
“I reckon they were a little more agitated and they egged the place… they opened the freezers and pulled everything out.”
Instead of being able to reopen to customers last Thursday, the team had to spend the day cleaning the mess left by the intruders, who are believed to have broken in the previous night.
“This time they threw our iPad, which is our cash register system, and shattered that and took our business phone,” she said.
“So it’s been a lot more inconvenient this time.
“Last time we tidied up a bit and started trading.
“But this time it was more the inconvenience of the eggs, there would have been two dozen eggs thrown on the walls.
“It’s bloody heartbreaking, especially when it’s a family business and even my 76-year-old mother was cleaning for us to trade.”
As a result, the café has ramped up its security measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Bass Coast police are investigating the incidents and seeking any CCTV footage from surrounding properties.
Anyone with information should contact Bass Coast CIU on 5671 4100 or Crime Stoppers.
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