Three food truck operators take a big hit after break-ins
The owners say knives, tools and electric cords were taken early Sunday morning
Three London food trucks were broken into on Sunday morning, leaving at least two of the owners scrambling to repair windows and purchase equipment.
"They took a lot of valuable stuff, a lot of our cords that we plug our fridges into, our generator cords that we use for private events and some knives," said Bifana Boys food truck owner Ricardo Cavaco.
Ricardo said the trucks were broken into while they were parked at a storage facility on Ashland Avenue in east London. He said the thieves took about $900 worth of equipment.
"We were struggling as it was this year because most of the stuff was cancelled for us. A lot of our weddings got pushed for next year. Events were totally cancelled," he said.
"That truck is really the main part of the business," said Cavaco, who also operates out of the Western Fair market on the weekends. "That's kind of our bread and butter. And it's made it tough. Now we have to replace everything so that we're ready for next season and to finish up the rest of this year."
Cavaco still has two physically-distanced private events coming up before he wraps for the year.
"There's been a lot of small businesses broken into lately. It's hard enough for us to try to make it through. We've seen a lot of our friends close down and it's been tough," he said.
My Big Fat Food Truck owner Terry Lyons-Schram figures he lost about $1,500 worth of equipment and food in the theft.
"We're running on a shoestring budget this year because of the pandemic," he said. "The money, it's a substantial amount. But then it's just the time to run around and source out stuff that's been stolen."
Most weekends Lyons-Schram has been parked and serving customers at the corner of Riverside Drive and Wonderland Road.
He has a private event on Wednesday. "I'm running all over the place today to restock and try to find a place to replace the window as well," he said.
"It's a feeling of of being being violated. I mean, somebody broke in, they've stolen something and done damage to my business."