Tarte Beach House, Gelato Gemelli: Gold Coast hospitality businesses raided by looters during cyclone
While the majority of Gold Coasters have either bunkered down or are bravely pitching in to help the community tough it out, a handful of individuals have seen the chaos as a criminal opportunity.
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While the majority of Gold Coasters have either bunkered down or are bravely pitching in to help the community tough out the wild weather, a handful of individuals have seen the chaos as a criminal opportunity.
On Saturday, Gemelli Italian co-director Alec Carney shared CCTV footage of a man in a hoodie kicking through a glass door at the brand’s Broadbeach restaurant, creating a hole which he then uses to reach through and unlock the door.
Mr Carney told this masthead the forced break-in occurred at about midday, “only about five minutes after I left”.
“He pretty much broke in and stole gelato,” Mr Carney said.
“He helped himself to a cup of gelato out of the cabinet, stole a few bottles of spirits as well, but he didn’t really care about the spirits, he cared more about the gelato.
“He got the pistachio, he’s got good taste.”
Mr Carney said the store manager alerted him to the break-in while it was happening – so he raced back in his Gemelli Italian truck, and managed to find the suspect enjoying his illicit snack nearby.
According to Mr Carney, there then ensued a “low-speed chase” – he in his one tonne truck, following the ice-cream thief on foot – which ended up back at Gemelli Italian when the suspect realised he’d left his phone on the counter of the restaurant.
“When I was chasing him, I knew he was coming back to get his phone,” Mr Carney said.
The episode, which ended in an arrest by police, has prompted much mirth within the company.
“We were laughing so hard last night – ‘the Gold Coast gelato bandit’, ‘grand theft gelato’.
“I was in stitches.”
Police told the Bulletin they arrested and charged a 40-year-old Broadbeach Waters man with enter premises and commit an indictable offence, and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property. He will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.
However, overall, ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been no laughing matter for the Gemelli empire.
Of their five venues, only the flagship restaurants at Brisbane and Broadbeach have been unaffected by power outages, resulting in the company having to bin a significant quantity of stock (including hundreds of litres of gelato).
“We’re a big company, to lose it all and have to restart is a big loss,” Mr Carney said.
The Broadbeach and Brisbane venues both returned to service on Saturday night after it became clear the cyclone wouldn’t quite develop in the manner previously forecast.
Police confirmed they arrested and charged a 40-year-old Broadbeach Waters man with enter premises and commit an indictable offence, and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property. He will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.
Gemelli Italian was not the only Gold Coast business to grab the attention of looters.
Tarte Beach House manager Shawna Pate took to social media to advise of bandits raiding the business’ backup cold storage room.
“Unfortunately, we had a troubling incident last night [Friday],” Ms Pate wrote.
“Our backup cold room, which we’ve been relying on to preserve stock through the cyclone and power outages, was broken into.
“The padlock was cut, and stock was stolen—stock we’ve been trying to hold onto during these challenging times.
“If anyone saw anything or has any information, we would be incredibly grateful if you could let us know. Your help would mean a lot to us.”
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Originally published as Tarte Beach House, Gelato Gemelli: Gold Coast hospitality businesses raided by looters during cyclone
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