Burglars strike again at city bars
TWO businesses in Manchester city centre have been broken into and burgled in the latest in a spate of raids.
Bosses at Grub and Elnecot posted pictures online of the damage. It follows similar incidents at new bars and restaurants in Ancoats in recent months.
The latest to have been targeted is Elnecot.
Staff at the restaurant and bar, on Blossom Street, published pictures of one of their large windows, now boarded up, on Instagram.
Chef and co-owner Michael Clay said: “It’s not nice to see people on
CCTV rummaging around your restaurant.
“All the electrical stuff can be replaced. The window is an absolute killer though, we don’t even know what that’s going to cost but it means we’ve got a big wooden window for the next week at least.
“We’ve not got any forensic evidence but we’ve got them on CCTV.
“They didn’t even try to disguise themselves, they weren’t wearing masks and we’ve got the registration of the car.
“Hopefully, there’s something there that the police can use.”
It is the latest in a string of break-ins. Pollen Bakery , Trove, Cask and Sugo in the area have all been targeted recently.
Michael said: “More places means more opportunity.
“They’re difficult to catch and the police haven’t got the people power to follow them up.
“It seems to be the same group every time too.”
Street food operator Grub posted about a similar incident at their new site in the Green Quarter.
Grub was broken into overnight after only its second weekend of trading in its new location on Red Bank.
Alongside pictures of a broken lock and splintered door frame, a post on Grub’s Twitter account reads: “Don’t know why we bother.
“Spend all year busting your gut to run a business.”
Director Jason Bailey told the M.E.N: “The whole thing is just the timing, it’s just a bad time of year for everyone and everyone feels helpless about that as it is.
“The burglary was just a kick in the teeth,” he said.