[ad_1]
DAVID UNWIN/Stuff
Mr Grumpy’s is still open for business and owner Bridgette Fricker says she’d love to see the community come and support them (file photo).
The owner of a popular fish and chip shop says she needs the community to get out and support her small business after it was targeted in a burglary.
Bridgette Fricker and her husband own Mr Grumpy’s Takeaways in Foxton Beach and just shy of their 12-month anniversary of taking it over, they are organising repairs and insurance.
Someone smashed their way into the store on Tuesday just after 5am, breaking a glass door and till before taking off with its float.
“He went straight for the till,” Fricker said. “He climbed over a bar, and the glass panel is only 30cm by 1m, so he must have been a small person.”
The male passed the stolen kit to someone waiting outside, and returned to try for a second till.
“I have actually worked here for 17 years … and we’ve been targeted about three times.
“I’m p***** off. Like any small business, it p***** you off they think [they] can take what they want and leave.”
She had been alerted to the early-morning smash and grab by her parents who owned a nearby motel.
“Someone got hold of my mum and she called me … it’s just an invasion of our space.”
Two other dairies in the town were also targeted the same morning, she said.
“I put up a post on Facebook to say we’d been hit and said, if you can, come and support us.”
The business would have to front up the excess for the repairs and although the door had been secured, the glass would need to be ordered, she said.
“We’re still open though … we’ve opened up the second door.”
DAVID UNWIN/Stuff
Mr Grumpy’s owner Bridgette Fricker says the burglary was captured on the store’s security cameras (file photo).
The alleged thieves were captured on the store’s cameras and police had been to the scene, she said.
Fricker wasn’t willing to install things like concrete bollards or bars as it would “completely change the frontage” of the shop.
Mr Grumpy’s had created a legacy in the town. It was a popular destination for locals and travellers and on its busiest days wait times could be anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes.
Stuff understands the Rainbow Dairy and Triangle Foodmarket were also targeted on Tuesday morning.
Attempts to reach the stores’ owners were unsuccessful.
A police media spokesperson said they were aware of burglaries at a convenience store and takeaway shop on Seabury Ave.
1 NEWS
It comes as one of the country’s largest supermarket chains says its stores have experienced a big increase in crime.
The incident at the dairy was believed to have occurred overnight on Sunday while the burglary at Mr Grumpy’s was reported to police Tuesday morning, they said.
”Police are working through all possible lines of inquiry and a scene examination has taken place at the convenience store.”
Retail crime rates across Aotearoa have been on the rise for the past four years and according to Retail NZ it cost the country more than $1b a year.
Reports of theft dropped slightly in 2020 but overall have been skyrocketing with thousands more cases recorded between 2020 and 2021, and then 2021 to 2022.
Police data showed shoplifting crimes (robbery, burglary and theft) increased with police receiving 241,638 reports in 2021-2022.
That was up by almost 41,000 compared with the 2021 total of 208,445.
The Government was also offering small retail businesses a subsidy of up to $4000 to install fog cannons, but it could not be used for other any other crime prevention measures.
[ad_2]