A restaurant in downtown Kelowna is the latest business to be impacted by criminal activity.
Mike Haidar, owner of Subcity Donair on Bernard Avenue, said yesterday began as a normal day, until the air conditioning units stopped running.
“It just started to heat up and heat up,” says Haidar. “My staff was getting sick, and I was in a really bad mood, and that’s not me when it comes to running my business.”
The temperature inside the restaurant had reached 43 degrees Celsius as a result of the two rooftop units being vandalized.
Because of this, Subcity Donair had to close at 5:30 PM and miss out on the dinner rush.
Haidar says he has a hunch as to why someone would wreck his AC units.
“The cops were here about a month and a half ago,” he said. “There were tents on top of the roof – people were living in there and the RCMP came and actually dismantled them. I have a feeling that might be why they did my air conditioner in.”
Haidar says he's still waiting to hear back on repair costs, but plans to contact the Kelowna RCMP when he does.
Subcity Donair has since reopened with working air conditioning.
This is just one of many incidents to befall downtown businesses in recent months.
In June, the Garden of Eden escort agency on Lawrence Avenue was robbed at gunpoint, while MacDermott’s on Bernard Avenue was broken into by a sledgehammer-wielding suspect.
Other incidents include robberies at the Wild Kingdom adult store and the Naked Café on Lawrence Avenue.