'More vulnerable and less protected': Winnipeg restaurants want help curbing crime

Winnipeg restaurant owners are calling for help amid rising crime in their dining rooms, saying the province’s retail crime initiative doesn’t go far enough.

Foodtrip Restaurant and Banquet near Polo Park got an unwelcome late-night visitor on Sunday. Co-owner Lourdes Federis said it happened around 2 a.m. when someone smashed through the front window.

“They got some cash (from the) cash register, and of course they broke our main door and our window,” said Federis, adding they don’t keep much cash in the register overnight.

She estimates damage will cost her about $5,000, but it likely won’t be worth making an insurance claim as that will just drive up her premiums.

“We're very small businesses, right, so it just makes you really think how much longer we could keep up.”

The break-in comes just days after the province extended its retail theft initiative, bringing more police officers to crime hotspots in the city – like Osborne, the Exchange and the West End.

“We've seen real results. We've seen crime come down in all of those areas,” said Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.

But some restauranteurs are feeling left out.

“Unfortunately, we haven't seen the same investment in crime in our industry that we've seen in the retail sector,” said Shaun Jeffrey, the CEO of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

“We need a sector-specific program, because it's not just a one size fits all here. Obviously, different industries require different support.”

He said restaurant owners want the province to put something on the table in Budget 2025, like further grants for security upgrades or more police inside restaurants.

Wiebe said he will be meeting with the association to speak about these concerns.

“We're open to working with the restaurant's association, with retailers, with community and understanding the specific needs or the specific ways we can address some of the issues that they're seeing,” he told CTV News.

He said the province will also be unveiling its public safety strategy, which he said will tackle public safety and the root causes of crime. It is expected to be released by the end of November.

For Federis, who is still cleaning up after the break-in, the help can’t come soon enough.

“I feel like we’re more vulnerable and less protected and more targeted,” she said.