The co-owner of the Copperhouse restaurant says that back-to-back break-ins that occurred on Friday is just the cost of doing business.
“It was not the best way to wake up on a on a Friday, which is kind of your big day of the week,” said Mark Henry.
He says the first crime occurred around 2:30 a.m., when a lone man smashed the drive-through window with a rock, snuck in, stole a bottle of alcohol from the shelf and then left. For some reason, the break-in didn’t trip the alarm at the Range Lake Road restaurant.
The same man allegedly came back at 6:30 a.m., but this time he wasn’t quite as successful.
“Funny enough, he grabbed a bottle of (Budweiser) Prohibition (an alcohol-free variety of beer), which I don’t think he was looking for, but that’s what he took,” said Henry. “Pretty respectful for a B and E, other than he did bust the van window for no real reason.”
Henry said the suspect, who was caught on camera, was already known to the RCMP, and was quickly picked up.
In total, Henry estimates the break-in set his business back about $3,000 to $4,000.
“It’s a lot of burgers to sell to make three grand,” he said. “You work hard for your money in this business.”
Despite the shock of the break-in, there was no time to lose in getting the restaurant up and running.
“We turned it up a gear and just needed to get everything ready for service Friday night,” said Henry.
He was impressed by the way the community came together to get the Copperhouse operational again — particularly Diamond Glass, whose staff were able to fix the drive-through window in a matter of hours. The business was reopened by 12:30 p.m. that same day.
“It was our first time in four years going through that, and I was just really impressed, really appreciative of the business community and how they prioritized our situation and got us on our feet (so quickly).”
Henry is of two minds in regards to the misconduct that affected his business.
“On one level, it’s frustrating, but you also have to have empathy for what’s ultimately the driver of it,” he added, referring to various social issues.
However, he said, “You also have to weigh that empathy for what drives a situation against the need for norms in society.
“Throwing rocks through windows at two in the morning to grab a bottle of whiskey is not normal. It’s not acceptable.”
*