Thief steals $2000 of food from Tarawera’s The Landing Cafe

The Landing Cafe at Lake Tarawera was targeted in a robbery on April 13. Photo / Supplied

A lakeside cafe’s entire stock of food — bar a “couple of bao buns” — was stolen over the weekend in the latest in a series of break-ins at the Rotorua business.

Geoff Webber, owner of The Landing Cafe at Lake Tarawera, says about $2000 worth of food was taken early on Sunday morning, forcing the business to close for two days.

It was the second burglary in three weeks and the “fifth or sixth” this year. He believed a serial thief was responsible.

“It’s becoming a regular thing here … It’s a heartbreaking thing, to be honest,” he told the Rotorua Daily Post.

“They just don’t realise how much damage they’re doing to a small business.”

The repeated burglaries had made Webber question, “Is it worth it?”

‘Everything except for a couple of bao buns’

Webber — who has owned the cafe for five years — said he discovered the most recent break-in when he arrived at work on Sunday morning.

He saw sugar sachets outside before opening the back door and seeing hash sticks on the ground, he said.

Webber said a thief “managed to force my freezer door open and took a couple thousand dollars worth of food”.

“Everything except for a couple of bao buns” had been taken, he said.

“And I thought, that’s probably because they don’t know what to do with them,” he joked.

He said two people broke in, wearing balaclavas, hats, glasses, and gloves.

Tarawera Landing Cafe owner Geoff Webber said the cafe was targeted in a robbery on April 13 and $2000 of food was stolen. Photo / Supplied

Webber security cameras captured one of them at 3.24am.

Clothes were “dumped” at the cafe on Sunday, too, he said.

Webber’s CCTV also captured a thief on March 29 at 3.55am.

He believed it was “the same person” who broke in both times. On the first occasion, they took beer, wine, and steak from the fridge.

“But then he went into the main restaurant and set the alarm off, so he must have scarpered.”

Webber said earlier in the year, the person he believed to be a serial thief “was coming back once a month” and taking “whatever” was in the small chest freezer.

“I ended up moving that inside so he couldn’t take anything.”

In response to the burglaries Webber said he had “secured the doors more” and installed bolts and new locks.

He engaged a locksmith to further secure the freezer and put a steel panel on the door.

Webber estimated his insurance claim for Sunday’s robbery would be about $4000.

“Last time it was around $1000, but that’s like my excess, so I didn’t put a claim in.”

Webber said the cafe was closed on Sunday and Monday and reopened on Tuesday.

Police making inquiries

A spokesperson said police had examined the scene and were making inquiries.

Anyone who has any information is asked to contact police on 105, either online or on the phone. Please reference file number 250413/7493.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.