Raiders smashed their way into a landmark York café, stealing cash and causing a significant amount of damage.
The incident took place in the early hours of yesterday (Sunday, 11 January) at Sophie York on Lendal Bridge.
Owner Sophie Knight said the burglary had knocked the confidence of her young team. And she’s concerned about the difficult start to a year which will also see another major challenge – Lendal Bridge closing for two months for repairs.
She has run the café for five years, and then took over the former Dyls café near Skeldergate Bridge two years ago.
Her supervisor Harry discovered the break in when he came to open up Sophie York. It’s the second time it’s been targeted, with another break-in this time last year.
Sophie told YorkMix: “This time they’d gone through our front door, so all the glass had completely shattered.
“To put it bluntly, they battered the door in, which we believe happened between midnight and 5am when our bakery arrives.
“Unfortunately, they took all the money. Thankfully, we don’t keep a lot of money on site overnight.
“But they’d also been upstairs, downstairs, they’d booted in every single door that is locked in the building. So quite a bit more damage this time compared to last year.
“Obviously it just knocks you. It’s knocked my confidence, and also it’s knocked my whole team – we have a really young team, and I think it’s shaken us all up a little bit.”
The police came quickly and “have been really good”, she said. They have taken fingerprints and footprints. Unfortunately CCTV on the bridge doesn’t really cover the café.
It was closed all day Sunday by the raid. “January is such a quiet month for us, anyway, so we absolutely rely on weekends. To have to close on a Sunday, obviously it’s not good for a small, independent at all.”
The café reopened today, but the opening hours may vary over the next couple of weeks as the damage is fixed.
It’s an expensive business for a small indie business like Sophie York. “It’s not just what they took on Saturday night, it’s the repairs. It’s the having to close.
“York is full of so many small independents that will appreciate that’s just not ideal, especially not this time of year.”
It comes on top of a lot of challenges for the hospitality sector. “I will say it until I’m blue in the face – how important it is to support the independents.”
Lendal Bridge is set to close to traffic for two months for urgent repairs, possibly from April.
“They’re due to close the bridge for two months just as we hit our busy season, which is really not ideal for us. I don’t really know the extent at the moment.
“To be honest, I’ve not actually been told that much, but I’m very apprehensive for the year ahead, especially now, as we’ve started like this.”
Sophie, 29, says she the setbacks won’t put her off the business.
“These coffee shops are my baby. For the last five years of my life, I’ve just absolutely thrown everything I have, mentally and physically into them.
” And as much as it does knock my confidence – and I’m only a young woman myself – I just think you can’t let it get you down.
“The amount of people and support that has come out after this shows that we’re doing something right.”
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “On the morning of Sunday 11 January, we received a report that a café on Museum Street had been broken into.
“The burglary occurred sometime between 5pm on Saturday 10 January and 5am on Sunday.
“Our officers attended, and forensic enquiries are underway.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious, or has any relevant CCTV or dashcam footage covering the area, is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12260005950.”
