After 30 break-ins in three years business owner pleads for government to act

A popular Stuart Park restaurant has been broken into 30 times in the last few years. Now the owner is considering shutting up shop.

A restaurant owner has revealed the dire challenges Top End businesses face after his family restaurant was broken into for the 30th time in three years.

Owner of Bamboo Lounge in Stuart Park, Romal Shrestha, 38, said the whopping number of break-ins had amounted to almost $100,000 in damage – a cost which had left him weighing up the business’s future.

“(My dad) was saying ‘mate, why don’t you just shut shop?’” Mr Shrestha said.

“You know, (we’re) getting pushed from all angles, broken into all the time, he said ‘why are you even open?

Bamboo Lounge owner Romal Shrestha says the latest attack on his restaurant brings its break-in tally to 30 in three years. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“He’s got a point.”

With increased rental rates and insurance costs, Mr Srestha said the disruptive break-ins had become “much worse” and more frequent.

“I don’t think we got a break-in at all in the first six years in business – at all,” he said.

“And even after that I think it was one in a couple of years, so realistically it’s the last three years, four years where it’s been break-in after break-in.”

Mr Shrestha said police had been unable to stamp out the crime wave and that government needed to do more to tackle the problem.

Mr Srestha said the government needed to do something about crime now. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“Government’s go to do something,” Mr Shrestha said.

“Something to get people off the streets, (so) we’re not getting constantly broken into, I think we need security or possibly more police patrols around this area.

Until then, Mr Shrestha said he’s “not sure” what Bamboo Lounge’s future looks like.

“It’s part of doing business (in Darwin) unfortunately at the moment,” he says.

“We would like to be open for the next 11 years, but at this stage are we going to be… I’m not sure.”