Vandalism shatters Regina restaurant window, but not community spirit

Shattered glass, a rock and roughed up blinds were left behind after a Regina restaurant was struck by vandalism this past weekend.

Tangerine owner Aimee Schulhauser was devastated to discover a smashed window Monday morning. After she expressed her frustration on social media, an unexpected outpouring of support from the community restored her faith in humanity.  

"These last two years have been extremely tough. And this past January has been the toughest of all months that we've ever seen in the 16 years that I've been in business. And so it was just one thing after another and no good news kind of thing out there in the world," she said.

The restaurant's glass break alarm system wasn't triggered and the surveillance system didn't capture any images of the perpetrators. 

"We have the sensors right above the windows. Either it happened during the night and it didn't trigger the alarms, or it might have happened after our alarms were turned off [after the baker arrived]," she said.

Friends and strangers reacted to her post, asking how they could help out.

"People shared my post," she said. "People were asking, 'Is there a GoFundMe page?'" 

Schulhauser started a GoFundMe with a goal of $1,000, despite her not knowing the full cost of the damage. Once the repairs are covered, any extra funds raised will be paid forward, she said.

"We want to give that money to other people in need in our community," she said.

The community support impressed Schulhauser.

"Our community is stronger than we think. We have more strength than we think we do right now," she said.

"Our spirit of giving hasn't diminished in these last couple of years, we just maybe are not aware of things that are happening. And when we are, then everyone rallies together to help."