CHEF’S NEW DINER IS BURGLED
G REAT British Menu chef Tommy Heaney’s restaurant has been broken into just weeks after opening. After months of building work on the former Arbenning site and crowdfunding £40,000 last year, Heaney’s officially opened on October 10.
But less than a month later, the restaurant was broken into and cash was taken from the safe.
CCTV shows a man entering the Pontcanna restaurant during the early hours of Friday morning.
Crumlin-born Tommy said: “The cleaner came in this morning and they let us know.
“They came in at around 8am and nothing was disturbed at all, and then they realised the safe had been broken into.
“It’s a bit gutting, we are trying to establish a business. It’s a bit frustrating, police need to crack down.
“This was done when people are potentially walking past and going to work.”
Tommy said CCTV from his restaurant shows the person leaving at around 6.30am, almost an hour after they broke in.
Other valuables in the restaurant weren’t touched, with only the cash from the safe taken.
Tommy said: “They took the staff tips who have been working hard since we opened and we just want to get it out there that if there’s any information please come forward.”
The news comes after four restaurants were targeted in a spate of burglaries across Cardiff in October.
Bully’s, La Cuina, The Smoke House and Rock and Malt, all in Pontcanna, have had to pay thousands of pounds’ worth of damages after each break-in.
Tommy said: “The money side is not the issue, it’s the knock-on affect on our staff and customers and we have got to try and carry on for our customers.”
A South Wales Police spokesman said they were aware of the incident at Heaney’s and are investigating.