There’s a happy ending for a Hamilton restaurant whose heaters were stolen at a time when they were needed most.
Electric Diner in Hess Village had four heaters used to warm its outdoor dining tent stolen early Wednesday morning.
At the time, co-owner Erika Puckering told Global News that she felt like she was in shock when she got the news and broke down crying.
A GoFundMe was started by the owner of Andiamo, which is next to Electric Diner on George Street, with the goal of raising $12,000 to replace the high-end Bromic heating units. The fundraiser met that goal by Thursday morning.
Not long after that, one of Electric Diner’s Instagram followers sent a message to the restaurant, saying he may have spotted the heaters on someone’s property.
Puckering told Global News Radio’s Good Morning Hamilton that she called her husband, who drove down to the location where the heaters had been spotted.
“He sat there, waiting for the cops all afternoon for four hours, staking out these heaters. And the person put them on their truck start to move. We called the cops again and they apprehended them.”
As it turned out, the keen-eyed Instagram follower had been right — those were the missing heaters.
Puckering said three out of the four heaters are in working order and that one of them will need to be serviced, but she said they will be returning the money to everyone who contributed to the GoFundMe.
She credits the Hamilton community for providing so much support and kindness at a time when they needed it the most.
“We can’t believe that we received all of this money and the warm hearts from everybody trying to get us back on our feet. It’s just incredible.”
Hamilton police spokesperson Krista-Lee Ernst confirmed that two people were arrested in connection with the heater thefts.
A 43-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman, both known to police, are facing charges of break-and-enter and possession under $5,000.
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