Flavours of India on Franklyn St. in Nanaimo was victim to a break in on Tuesday, March 2 with multiple items stolen. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

BREAK IN

‘We just started last week:’ recently re-opened restaurant hit by overnight theft

Mar 2, 2022 | 2:17 PM

NANAIMO — An overnight break in is the latest setback for a local restaurant trying to survive a gauntlet of challenges.

Flavours of India on Franklyn St. in downtown Nanaimo was broken into overnight on Wednesday, March 2. It’s believed the theft occurred around 6 a.m., but it wasn’t discovered until around 10:30 a.m.

Munish Mehta, owner of the restaurant, told NanaimoNewsNOW they were able to use a stolen tablet used for food courier orders to track the thieves movements beginning with a stop on nearby Wesley St.

“When the cops came in they told me to ring the tablet. Then it showed it travelling to Value Village in Harewood mall, then it went to the Parkway and Hwy. 1 and then disconnected. Maybe it was switched off, I don’t know.”

In addition to the tablet, items stolen ranged from a small amount of cash, to a cash register and debit machine.

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Entry was gained via a flathead screwdriver which was used to pry the lock open. It was found at the scene.

Nanaimo RCMP confirmed an investigation was underway however there was no surveillance footage of the incident.

The break-in comes at the worst possible time.

Flavours of India was closed for renovations over several weeks as the restaurant updated their kitchen.

“Our dining area is still pending because we are out of money,” Mehta said. “We just started last week our takeout and it was going good so we were thinking to make some money and start on the next side, now this happened today.”

The restaurant has also had to deal with elements of social disorder around their property.

A wooden patio, installed by the City of Nanaimo as part of a pilot project during the pandemic, was vandalized last year.

The City replaced it however more damage occurred a few days prior to Tuesday’s theft.

“And every day, we have to clean their [expletive] outside the restaurant whenever we open every day,” a frustrated Mehta added. “There’s bags, drugs, smokes…beers every day on our stairs.”

If anyone has information about this incident, they’re encouraged to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754 -2345.

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alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley