James Kavanagh and his boyfriend William Murray have been left heartbroken after thieves broke into their food truck and trashed it.
The couple recently relocated their food truck to Chatham Row, but have been forced to close for a couple of weeks after being robbed twice in the space of a few days.
In a post shared on Instagram, James and William shared photos of the damage alongside CCTV footage of the thieves in question.
They wrote: “Our caravan was broken into and trashed twice over the couple of days we were closed ☹️ Both parties causing a lot of damage meaning we’ve to close for a few weeks while it gets repaired / reinforced.
“They stole some items (and tore our cute caravan fairy lights apart – most unnecessary) but it’s the repairs to the structure, window and door that have caused the most heartache. It’s a vintage caravan meaning parts etc. are tricky & expensive to come by.
“It’s a food truck; you’re not going to find bars of gold inside, you’re just going to frustratingly prevent us from earning a living for a while.
“What struck us most was that how smack-bang central we are in Dublin, the time (5am/6am) and how long each robbery took – yet no one was patrolling the area or able to stop such a loud and obvious break in,” they continued.
“Our heart goes out to the other businesses being broken into across the city over the past while. Not sure what the answers are, but it’s so frustrating & disheartening.
“It’s already such an costly business to be in. If you recognise any of the people who broke in from the CCTV, DM us in confidence. Hope to be back open serving you soon 💔
Speaking to Independent.ie, William confirmed they have reported both incidents to the Gardaí.
William said: “We were loving that new location, we thought we were taking off a bit, it was getting busier and we were getting regular customers there. It’s a horrible thing to happen.”
“The first robbery, they took cash from the till but there wasn’t much in it. Last night, the lads trashed the place, they took random things like an internet dongle, a port for an iPad, they wouldn’t be of any value to them but they took them anyway.
“I don’t know if I’ll put the van back there or not. It’s all going to cost so much money, there’s such a small margin in the food industry as it is, you’re not making a lot of money,” he continued.
“Anything like this puts a dent in your earnings. I won’t be open for a couple of weeks and the cost of repairs, it’s all a headache. Insurance wise, I’m reluctant to go down that route in case they put my policy up.
“I’m soaked to the bone, I’ve been outside all day trying to sort things out, it’s so tiring and heartbreaking. We’ve CCTV footage, you can see faces quite clearly. It’s devastating, it’s a small business that relies on being open every day. Anything can ruin it because it’s so small.
“There’s a feeling in Dublin now that people are just causing havoc. They’re not doing it for money or gain, just causing mayhem for the sake of it,” he added.
