Bareknuckle BBQ: Hastings restaurant broken into and money stolen

“We’ve had absolutely no problems in the past (like break-ins) and we came to work Saturday morning to find the doors broken and the door torn apart,” West said.

“There was a lot of stuff thrown around, a mess, and there was plenty of money in the draw.”

West said a few other items were taken, but the safe containing an undisclosed amount of cash was the most valuable item stolen because it contained “all of our Friday night earnings.”

West said it was unclear how many criminals were involved and that they were working with another company to provide the CCTV to police.

“We’re completely fenced in. There’s basically a six-foot fence around us.”

West said running a family business isn’t easy, and he works a second job as a teacher to cover the cost of running the business and support his family. He said it was “terrible” to have to deal with something like this.

“For someone to do this, it’s like ‘what the hell?’ you say

But she said the support from customers and the community has been encouraging for her and her husband, who has run Bareknuckle BBQ for almost three years.

“The comments and support were overwhelming. There are a lot of comments and a lot of messages.

“It just shows that even though these things still happen, our community spirit is great.”

West said the criminal or criminals must have jumped the fence at the boundary of the property before breaking down their gate (which was part of a separate fence).

Police were at the scene on Saturday to investigate the theft. A police spokesman said Monday morning that “investigations are ongoing.”

A neighboring coffee shop that was also reportedly targeted was contacted for comment.

If you have information that could help police, call 105 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter covering a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and hurricane recovery. He previously worked at News Corp Australia.