Thieves have hit Crofters Cottage Cafe getting away with around $1000 worth of stock.
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The incident, which occurred last Wednesday night, saw the offenders break into one of the cold rooms located beside the popular Glen Innes cafe using bolt cutters.
Owner of the cafe, Colleen Gibson was devastated to find countless boxes of fish, bacon, mozzarella cheese, butter and other food items missing upon her arrival to work on the Thursday morning.
The robbers also escaped with lettuce, bread, milk, hundreds of dollars worth of drinks – but perhaps what is more shocking, didn’t take the alcohol, Ms Gibson said.
“They took all the food but didn’t take the alcohol which I thought was just really strange,” Ms Gibson said.
“The local police came up here and checked it out … they actually suggested we get some proper lighting and cameras put in so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Ms Gibson has operated the cafe, which is located beside the popular Standing Stones tourist attraction, for about three years.
This was the first time something like this had happened, she said.
“Nothing like this had ever happened before while I have been working here,” Ms Gibson said.
“We put the cold room in about 12 months ago to keep up with the increasing demand here.
“We do a full à la carte menu and needed more space for everything.”
The offenders also attempted to break into another food storage area but were unsuccessful.
“When I found out what happened I just cried all day … I was crook at the time and I thought ‘I don’t need this’,” she said.
But the event still didn’t stop Ms Gibson and the team from providing excellent food and great service the following day.
“Luckily we were able to feed people [on Thursday] because I had brought some stock in earlier,” Ms Gibson said.
The incident is still currently under investigation by police.
Anyone with information or who has seen anything suspicious are being urged to contact the local Glen Innes Police Station on 6732 9799 or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.