Gisborne's Zest Cafe targeted by burglars, $8000 in goods stolen

It will be a tougher Christmas for the family who operate Gisborne’s Zest Cafe after thieves broke into their chiller on Monday night.

The loss of half of the chiller’s contents at about 10pm marks the second time the cafe on Peel Street has been targeted by such a burglary.

Security camera footage shared by Zest Cafe on social media shows three people removing the chiller door at the rear of the cafe from its hinges, wrecking it in the process.

One attempts to pull a fixed umbrella nearby out of the ground

About 20 minutes after they first appeared, they bring in a trolley. After piling goods inside, they take it away, along with boxes carried in their arms.

Finally, some people approach the chiller again with a trolley at about 3.25am but quickly run away.

“They got inside to steal the meat we had stored there, along with drinks and vegetables,” said Ramesh Krishnappa, the cafe proprietor.

“We have CCTV footage showing three disguised men doing the burglary and later a woman came to take items as well.”

The police were called and are investigating. They have viewed the CCTV footage.

“It’s very sad to see this happen to us and so close to Christmas,” Krishnappa said.

“All the businesses are struggling because of the recession and we have lost about $8000 of goods.

“Everyone is doing it tough and something like this has really set us back.”

Zest cafe owners Ramesh Krishnappa, left, his wife Chithra and their son Noah. Photo / Murray Robertson

He was not sure how long it would take to repair the wrecked door to the chiller.

“It was broken right off its hinges. I’m not sure when we will be able to get it fixed.”

His wife, Chithra Ramesh, who manages the cafe, said while it was upsetting, “We’re still going to have a good Christmas”.

The family have run Zest for more than two years.

The cafe was targeted by thieves last year in another burglary which involved the chiller.

A police spokesperson confirmed police had received a report of the incident and were investigating the alleged burglary.