London owner says someone is targeting her Asian fusion restaurant
CBC
'Mr. and Mrs. Bao' co-owner Julia Hou is frustrated police are not doing more to find the person breaking into two of her London-based restaurants.
Hou believes a single person, who she says is becoming increasingly violent, has been targeting two locations — one on Wharncliffe Rd North and another one still under construction on Richmond St — since late last month.
"I understand that the police are very busy," said Hou, 27, who along with her partner, has opened five separate restaurants in three cities since 2020.
"The people that are getting away with this crime seem to think that they can continue to get away with it, then the issue will only be exacerbated," said Hou, an Ivy Business School student at Western University. "It's important for the police to step up and take an active attitude toward this issue."
Video footage captured the suspect on four separate occasions over the span of eight days, smashing doors and windows and trying to open a cash box at both 'Mr. and Mrs. Bao' locations.
"From looking at the footage, it seems to be the same person," said Hou. "Not only is it the same person, he's very focused and goes right for the thing that he's after."
London Police are investigating the break-ins and said the case on Wharncliffe Rd. North has been assigned to members of the Street Crime Unit.
If someone is unhappy with a police response, they should contact The Professional Standards Branch (PSB), which deals with these kinds of complaints, said Cst. Sandasha Bough.
Hou has spent about $10,000 since late last month, dealing with the fallout of the break-ins, replacing doors, windows, and locks and buying new iPads after the old ones were taken.
"And then we can't operate because it's not a safe environment for our employees and then there's a loss of revenue," said Hou.
And that's not all.
"They're also being highly disrespectful. We found feces in the storage room. They're playing pranks on us. They're flooding our basement," said Hou.
Hou is now beefing up security and has decided her restaurants will no longer take cash.
The suspect must have taken a uniform too, said Hou, because her team recently spotted a man wearing a 'Mr. and Mrs. Bao' uniform on Dundas street.