Whanganui business broken into before doors even open

Robert Dari's food truck and new cafe were broken into on Monday evening. Photo / Logan Tutty

A new Whanganui cafe has been vandalised before it has even opened its doors.

Bula Bure, which is moving into the former Country Cafe and Playland premises on London St, was broken into on Monday evening, with thieves stealing hundreds of dollars of equipment as well as breaking into the owners' food truck.

Knives, aprons, outdoor heaters, hundreds of dollars of fairy lights and more were stolen from the food truck, courtyard and garage at the back of the cafe.

Robert Dari and his wife Ashleigh have been working hard for the last two months to prepare for the grand opening of their family-orientated cafe in the next two weeks.

"Funny thing is they didn't break inside," Dari said.

"There are going to be hiccups doing things like this.

"The things they have taken are nothing to them. The knives are everything to me, they're my tools and they bring me the money."

Police have been informed of the incident and the Daris are going through CCTV footage, with one of the cameras looking right over the food truck.

"It's just a yuck feeling. Why would you do such a thing?"

Dari is one of the food truck operators for the Hoop Nation basketball tournament over Easter Weekend and will need to reattach and repair the door to his truck and replace his cooking utensils before the big weekend.

"It just makes us a bit angry. We will get there though."

Dari said it was disappointing to arrive at work to see the damage, but he wouldn't let the incident weigh him down.

"It's not dampening our spirit of trying to be a service to the families of Whanganui."