Thieves target Victoria restaurants, take $900 in seafood, $400 in tips

Some staff of Victoria restaurants are on edge after thieves broke in and robbed the place.

Redd’s Roadhouse Pub, connected to the Comfort Inn & Suites, caught a bold thief on surveillance video Nov. 16.

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“That gentleman never came through a door,” said general manager Ryan Smith. “He found a way into our back storage area and ransacked the room.”

The thief went into Smith’s office and stole around $400 in tips for the kitchen staff, then went to the staff room and stole a wallet. He was confronted by staff, but appeared unfazed in the footage.

Smith said his staff are starting to worry for their safety.

“My job as a manager is to make sure my staff is safe, respected and … don’t have to deal with these things,” he said, adding there has been an increase in thefts from cars and disturbances around the restaurant. “With the rise in crime in the area lately, we feel like we have to look over our shoulders.”

Staff at Fishhook at Mermaid Wharf are also concerned after nearly $900 worth of seafood was stolen from the waterside restaurant earlier this month.

In the early hours of Nov. 2, thieves broke in to the building from the patio, went to the kitchen, and gathered up the supplies of rockfish, squid, shrimp and more.

They took “anything they could get their hands on,” according to general manager Nicole DeCoste.

Weeks later, another crook was caught on video snooping around the patio with a flashlight. Eventually, they left with a single bar mat. The next day, neighbours reported patio furniture missing from their yards.

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“We’ve been here over two years and have been really lucky with no one bothering us,” DeCoste said. “Now, I’m just not sure what’s going on. Even being alone in the morning, I make sure I have all the doors locked.”

The Victoria Police Department did not return a request for comment.