The owner of a northeast Calgary business is surveying thousands of dollars in damage and cleaning up after thieves stole $1,000 worth of meat.
Police responded to Ryan’s Meats, located at 1916 30 Ave N.E., for reports of a break and enter on Monday at 6:30 a.m.
Owner Noel Jervis said shortly after midnight, a vehicle smashed through his storefront. He estimates the damage to be over $30,000.
“It’s just astronomical. It’s tough enough right now with all the stuff that’s going on,” he said.
“If you’re hungry, ask me for some food and I’ll feed you. But you do this kind of damage just to steal a thousand bucks worth of food? Like, come on. This is ridiculous.”
Jervis is waiting on insurance to assess the damage but said the store will have to close for at least a couple of days.
“The toughest part here is the expense to fix everything, to get everything back up to operation, and downtime is huge. We’re not a big business,” he said.
“I’m just disgusted. I’ve got enough work to do. I don’t need this.”
In 13 years, this is the fifth time Ryan’s Meats has been broken into, according to Jervis.
“We’ve done everything we possibly can, short of having something to stop them from driving through. What do you do?” he said.
“I’d like to say what’s going on in my head but it’d be censored.”
So far, no arrests have been made.