One day before Tabare Orti was to celebrate his first year in business, his coffee bar was broken into. The break-and-enter was caught on video, and happened in broad daylight.
“We were opened on Christmas until 3 p.m. and he came just after 4 p.m. So literally an hour after we were closed he came in — I think this was definitely planned,” said Orti, who owns Ninetails Coffee Bar located in the heart of Koreatown.
The apparent thief, who was wearing a long-sleeved hoodie, made off with a little cash from the register, an envelope full of tips and a laptop.
“It gave us a bit of a hit.”
Less than four kilometres away, Outpost Coffee Roasters was broken into sometime between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
“We noticed that the front door was broken into; they popped the lock and were able to reach into the mechanism and opened the door,” said owner Troy Kelly.
Kelly says, just like at Ninetails, his door was damaged and a tablet which is used for point-of-sale purchases was stolen.
Just down the street near Dundas and University, Fugo Desserts was also broken into around the same time. The business posted a video on Instagram on Boxing Day documenting what was found.
“They destroyed our front door, broke and stole our store’s POS system, stole our ordering system iPad, and trashed the store. It’s really sad to see this happening at our busiest time of the year with pickup orders/delivery popups happening, especially in light of all the difficulties we’ve faced during the pandemic,” wrote the Fugo Fam.
The owners say the incidents couldn’t have come at a worse time, as small-businesses work their way through a traditionally busy time while struggling with a global pandemic and the restrictions that come along with it.
The year brought many challenges, said Kelly, “2020 threw a lot at us, from increased rent, to decreased customer base, to the inability to have customers inside, to doing what we normally do which is host people.”
But the Christmas spirit hasn’t been completely lost. At Ninetails, a GoFundMe page has raised more than $3,000 in support of the small business.
“There’s good people out there, there’s bad people out there and yeah we appreciate it,” added Orti.
A spokesperson with the Toronto Police Service says reports have been filed for at least two of the break-and-enters. Police are asking members of the public who may have more information to come forward.