Naked Cafe robbed of $5k

UPDATE: 11:15 a.m. 

Kelowna RCMP are continuing to investigate an early morning break-in where suspects forcibly gained entry into the rear door of the restaurant.

Police were notified just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, after staff at Naked Cafe discovered they had been robbed.

“Once inside, it is believed that the suspect(s) disabled the ... alarm system, before fleeing with a safe, a cash register drawer and thousands of dollars in cash,” states Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300 and cite file number 2018-23640.

ORIGINAL: 5 a.m.

A local restaurant is left frustrated and out over $5,000 after the store was robbed overnight Saturday. 

Employees at Naked Cafe, a vegan restaurant located on Lawrence Avenue in Kelowna, came to work Sunday morning to find the store a mess.

Jason Weber said staff found boxes in disarray and that the back door had been pried open.

“Our safe was missing and two of our tills were missing as well,” he said.

It appears a hammer that was left behind on the floor was used to pry the door open.

Weber said about $4,500 in cash was stolen along with the safe, tills and some beer taken from the back room.

“It did look like on our camera that some sort of vehicle was backed up as well to load the safe into,” said Weber.

Security video footage did capture the two suspects inside the store.

“It’s quite frustrating because Sunday is one of our busiest days and we had to turn customers away from breakfast,” he said.

Naked Cafe was able to be open for the lunch rush.

“We think they had to have known the alarm code because they did manage to turn it off,” he said.

Weber said he just wants to know why they had to be so desperate.

“If you’re a business owner in the downtown area, make sure you have cameras and secure alarm codes and be safe,” he said.

Castanet has reached out to RCMP for comment on the incident.