The break-in at Bibi’s café in Portobello was the second incident in two months
A popular café in Dublin 8 has been broken into for the second time in as many months.
The front window of Bibi’s café in Portobello was smashed with a rock at 1.25am yesterday, however the perpetrator didn’t manage to take anything.
Co-owner Geoff Lenehan told the Irish Independent that in 14 years of running his business, they’ve had two incidents in the last two months.
“Two months ago, we had a gentleman come in with a balaclava and a knife and demand cash from our staff in the middle of the day,” he said.
“While nothing has happened in the last two years, this has all happened in the past two months.
“We had security grates over the window, they were taken down and the padlocks on those were taken down. A rock was thrown through the window and the alarm went off, so we had all the security measures in place.”
The boarded up window at Bibi’s, which is now back open for business
He added that while the person who attempted to break into their till failed, there was still damage which has caused “frustration and disappointment”.
Unfortunately, the incident at Bibi’s café this week is not isolated, with the Belfry in Stoneybatter and Little Deer Comics in the same area suffering similar incidents in the past week.
“We immediately got support from other businesses who’ve had similar events happen to them. They’re worried about it and there is a genuine concern now,” Mr Lenehan added.
“We employ 30 people across two cafés, and every time something like this happens, it puts that under threat.”
Despite the boarded-up window in the Portobello café, the business is open as normal, and Bibi’s say they are looking forward to a great weekend.
A garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí are investigating an incident of burglary that occurred at approximately 1.25am on November 21 in the Woodquay area of Dublin 8.
“Enquires are ongoing at this time,” they added.
