A popular food truck along Highway 2 in the east end of Brockville, Ont. was broken into for the third time in three years on Saturday morning.
“Everything that was valuable was inside the room and the majority of that is gone,” said Raju Arenja, the owner and operator of Sam and Harry’s Chipwagon.
The truck is known for its fries, poutine, burgers and many other comfort foods popular with road trippers.
Arenja says the most recent break-in will set him back about $4,000 worth of valuable product.
The food truck has two sheds which are padlocked overnight, but they were broken open just after 4 a.m.
The food truck has two sheds which are padlocked overnight, but they were broken open just after 4 a.m. Saturday. (Jack Richardson/CTV News Ottawa)
CCTV footage shared with CTV News shows a person carrying cases of soda out of the shed.
Arenja, who operates the truck by himself, says he’s facing the challenge of regrouping after the loss.
“It’s going to take a while to recover because the food truck does not make thousands of dollars every day,” he said.
Arenja runs the truck from April to November and has owned and operated it for four seasons. It’s open seven days a week.
Despite the losses, the truck was open for business on Sunday.
A theft suspect in the lower right side of the photo seen carrying cases of pop out of the shed on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (CCTV)
Ron Excell and his wife were visiting from Barrie, Ont. after reading strong reviews about Sam and Harry’s Chipwagon online.
“It’s tough enough for a small business operator like this without somebody breaking into their property and stealing their stock,” he said.
Brockville Police were on the scene investigating the break-in on Saturday, but no arrests or charges have been announced.