Surrey restaurant hit with vandalism after dealing with repeated petty theft during pandemic

A South Surrey restaurant that struggled with thefts during the pandemic has now been hit with vandalism.

The Afghan Kitchen, a family-run restaurant on 24 Avenue, released video of someone damaging their patio. The video shows a suspect repeatedly bashing and thrashing the heaters causing significant damage before walking away.

“A gentleman on Saturday night… who approached us asking for food came back the next day to smash it,” said owner Hassib Sarwari, whose vehicle was also vandalized.

1:09 Patio damaged by vandal at South Surrey restaurant

“We didn’t give him food, he was quite upset about that. We gave him doughnuts but we were closed. It was midnight, we were leaving after an 18-hour shift. We would have been happy to help him out during our business hours.”

Last summer, the restaurant installed a surveillance camera after its patio plants were stolen three times.

Surveillance video footage showed a woman pulling up in a car outside the closed restaurant, walking up to the patio, picking up the potted plants and putting them in her car.

1:36 Flower theft caught on camera at South Surrey restaurant

Sarwari says he has been working seven days a week to stay afloat during the pandemic and the bill for the recent vandalism could total $15,000, making it even harder to rebuild.

“What’s scary was the fact that after he had vandalized, left and the police had assured us that he was looked after, he was back here last night,” he said.

“After all that had happened, he was here, scared all of our staff. I could see in their faces that they were quite worried about their safety, my safety, the restaurant’s safety. We were able to inform the cops again and they came back and took him away.”

RCMP say they have identified the vandal, but did not say if an arrest was planned.

Sarwari, who is originally from Afghanistan, believes the vandalism was not racially motivated. Rather, he thinks mental health may have been a factor.

“We want him to get help,” he said. “He definitely needs it after looking at the videos and our encounters. He’s not well and he’s dangerous to himself and the public right now.

“So that’s what I would like to see, someone take care of him and get him the help that he needs.”

— with files from Emad Agahi and Amy Judd