“It’s just too much” says building manager, after tough Covid year
STRUGGLING businesses at Womanby Street’s beloved Castle Emporium have been dealt an extra blow after suffering a break-in which saw property damaged and cash stolen.
Two men, who the Castle Emporium building manager described as “badly prepared”, were seen on CCTV forcing the premises’ roller shutter doors open at around 10.30pm on Wednesday night.
They crawled underneath and into the venue, where they were seen kicking shop doors open and emptying cash registers.
The building manager said: ““They didn’t touch much stock, but they took everyone’s till drawers, and whatever cash they could grab.
“They attacked the Bitcoin machine quite violently, they started kicking at it when they realised they couldn’t get any cash out of it – that was quite amusing.
“Then they suddenly realised there were cameras, and they freaked out.”
The two men were heard referring to each other by first names on the CCTV footage and the manager says the car they arrived in was parked in view of their cameras outside.
The robbery comes at a tough time for the Emporium, whose resident businesses have struggled to stay afloat in a year of lockdown closures.
The building is home to a number of indie businesses, including tattoo shop Still Hands, plant shop Tropigaz, and Shelflife, a bookshop selling radical anti-racist and queer literature.
Many of the shops continue to offer mail and click-and-collect orders, and The Barber Room is now open to customers following the easing of Covid restrictions this week.
All but one unit was broken into. The manager said: “Everyone’s doors got broken into, so we have to replace all of that.
“We’re going to have to possibly do a fundraiser to help with that, because it’s just an added cost that you don’t account for when you’re struggling already.
“Everything’s already below what it should be, so this is just an extra blow for everyone, it’s just too much.”
*UPDATE*
The Castle Emporium is fundraising for repairs HERE.
