REGINA - In the early morning hours of Nov. 13, Mia Danakas-Weinkauf was alerted by her husband about their restaurant, Mr. D's Stats Cocktails & Dreams Sports Lounge, being robbed of items worth around $1,500.
The incident took place at approximately 4 a.m. when multiple suspects entered the restaurant by throwing a rock at one of the windows. One suspect went through the broken window, opening the door for the other suspects.
The suspects took a lot of high-end vodka bottles and mixers with them. Between the stolen drinks and the one broken window, the estimated loss of revenue for the business could be around $3,000.
Police arrived on the scene shortly after the suspects had already gotten away.
After the robbery occurred, Danakas-Weinkauf felt "really upset, sometimes or kind of hurt." She added, "It's always the small business that gives to the community the most that always ends up having the bad things happen to them or bad occurrences that they have to put out-of-pocket money in to cover it."
She mentioned how the restaurant planned to donate money to various organizations over the holidays, like the Carmichael Outreach, but cannot donate as much now because of the incident. The money lost is likely around a week's worth of revenue, which is a big loss for a small business.
When her employees found out about the robbery, Danakas-Weinkauf said, "they felt bad for us because we [the two owners] were here from 4 a.m. to when our shift ended [on the day of the incident]. Danakas-Weinkauf feels the worst for her husband because he was the one cleaning up the restaurant and boarding up the window.
In terms of the robbery, Danakas-Weinkauf believes the incident was targeted because the restaurant is open most days until 2:00 a.m., and typically someone arrives at the restaurant before opening by 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. So, between the hours of operations and when an employee comes in, there is only a two—to three-hour window for a person to break into the establishment.
As to why her restaurant was targeted, it could be because a regular customer was not happy with the new regulations of the establishment, said Danakas-Weinkauf. Mr. D's Stats Cocktails & Dreams Sports Lounge no longer allows customers with hoodies, backpacks or people who are intoxicated. They also limit the amount of drinks they give a customer and refuse a customer to leave with their car keys if they are drunk, fearing for their safety and the safety of others.
Danakas-Weinkauf also believes she has identified one of the suspects. Through the security camera of the restaurant, she posted pictures of the suspects on Facebook. One person on the social media site recognized the backpack of one of the suspects. Danakas-Weinkauf compared the photo of the suspect and the camera footage and said the faces matched.
However, the Regina Police Service told Danakas-Weinkauf that security camera footage is not always clear and that the police would need more evidence before potentially making an arrest.
The officer covering the case was also off at the time. Danakas-Weinkauf said as a person, waiting is a little frustrating, but she also understands the RPS's position. She added it makes more sense for the same detective covering the case to continue working on it rather than change the officer in charge of the file.
She also credited the RPS for staying after the robbery occurred to ensure the suspects would not return.
This robbery was not the first for the restaurant. During a separate incident, suspects broke into the restaurant and took two bottles of rum, which were not even worth $50, according to Danakas-Weinkauf. The incident was so minor that the restaurant did not get the insurance involved because there was no point.
Adding more security to prevent future break-ins is not really on the table for the restaurant. Danakas-Weinkauf said the restaurant is in a well-lit area and already has a security system that is hooked up to alert the police.
While there is a security system in place, the alarm company did not receive the alert for the break-in right away like her husband, leading to a delay in the response by the police because they were not aware of the robbery. The alarm company told her they did not get the alert right away, but Danakas-Weinkauf was confused by it because her husband did get one from his phone as soon as the break-in happened.
Many restaurants in Regina do employ security guards, but Danakas-Weinkauf believes it "is not worth it." She added, "I believe it's four or five hours [minimum that the security guards have to work]. I believe there's [also] a minimum that you gotta pay them for. So we're only gone two hours, two and a half sometimes. I mean, for us to pay that kind of money every day [is not worth it]."
The only change the restaurant will make to prevent break-ins is changing the broken window to a different material that would not break or smash so easily.
If the suspects are ever identified and Danakas-Weinkauf could talk to them, she would ask them, "what made them think that they could damage other people's property for one [and] disrespect their property? And what makes them think that they're entitled to go into someone else's business, which is like our home, our business is like our home, because we're here every day."
