Restaurant break in causes $120k per week in damage

The Spirit House restaurant and cooking school on the Sunshine Coast could be shut for weeks after the kitchen was damaged during an alleged break-in earlier this week.

Co-owner of the restaurant, Acland Briety, described the scene as looking “like a house demolisher machine had come through". 

“It was insane, the amount of damage," he said. 

"There's wires and broken pipes and every bit of electrical equipment and bottle has been broken and ripped out of the walls, the whole roof has been caved in. 

"[The cooking school] was damaged as well but not as extensively, so we are hoping to get that up. There are cleaning crews in here at the moment."

Mr Briety said they were still waiting on insurance quotes for all the repairs and the restaurant would be shut until mid-October, costing them around $120,000 a week. 

The "knock-on" effects not only affect the restaurant’s bookings but also the orders from local food, vegetable and wine suppliers. 

He also said the business's main priority was looking after the 52 staff members. 

43-year-old Colin Mark Berry was charged by police with two counts of entering with intent and two counts of wilful damage.

Mr Berry appeared in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Tuesday at which point he did not enter any pleas. He was granted bail to return to court later in September.

Irit Jackson, 2^nd September 2021