Kiwi-Indian co-owner’s Hamilton eatery hit twice in two days; staff traumatised

A Hamilton eatery, Chicken Wicken, has been allegedly been robbed twice in two consecutive days, leaving staff traumatised and the co-owner concerned about the future of the business. The co-owner says this is the tenth robbery the eatery has faced in four years since it opened in 2022.

The first robbery, according to co-owner Shreyash Patel, took place on 11 March at about 11.30pm. Two masked men, one holding what appeared to be a large knife, entered the shop after getting out of their car, threatened the staff members, and took the cash till.

“There were two staff members at the time of the first robbery (11 March), and the masked men went straight for the cash drawer till,” Patel told The Indian Weekender.

The second robbery took place on 13 March, around 1.00 am. The CCTV of the second robbery showed one staff member mopping the floor, and the second staff member back in the kitchen, when the two masked men entered and threatened them with a weapon.
 

“In the first robbery, the cash till had money worth about one month’s sales. During both robberies, the masked men broke a 42-inch menu TV and caused some damage in the kitchen,” he added.

Patel said he reached the eatery within 10 minutes during both robberies after staff informed him.

"Police are making enquiries after two aggravated robberies in two nights at the same Hillcrest premises," police told The Indian Weekender.

Officers were called to the Vesty Avenue address at about 2.15am after two masked offenders entered the store and demanded cash.

"Staff had been called to the same address the night before at about 12.30am after two offenders matching a similar description had entered and also made demands from staff," the police added.

Explaining the ordeal, Patel said the store had recently begun serving coffee, and the equipment was also damaged.

“The masked men [during the second robbery] broke the coffee glass and also turned on the steam machine. I am not aware why,” Patel said.
“It seemed like they were enjoying it,” he added.

After the first robbery, Patel said a new cash till was installed the next day.

“Then in the second robbery, they again went for [the newly installed] cash till while the staff sat there, traumatised,” Patel said.

The co-owner said he will delay the decision to install a third cash till until the investigation is completed.

“We will not take cash now,” Patel said.

“After the 11 March robbery, I had given personal leave to the two staff members who suffered and got two new staff members to fill in for them. Now a total of four of my employees are suffering mentally and fear for their safety,” he added.

The Hamilton eatery, located near universities and schools, relies heavily on night-time food deliveries. The business operates Monday to Friday from 8am to 4am, and on weekends from 11am to 4am.

Following the two robberies, Patel said staff had to cancel night delivery orders during what are usually the busiest days of the week.

“We had to cancel 17 orders on 11 March and nine orders were cancelled on 12 March, and walk-in customers were turned away,” he said.

Patel suspects the same group was responsible for both robberies, saying their style of operation was “same to same,” with one person remaining in the car and two entering the eatery.

Panic, equipment issues, and disappointment

Patel said the CCTV cameras inside the shop are privately owned by him, while external cameras installed are not functioning.
“We don’t know who to contact who can help us come and repair the cameras.”

"It was installed by the government. We don’t know who to call for repairs," he added. 

Patel also said he had previously requested the installation of bollards to protect the store after an earlier robbery in which the shop’s glass windows were shattered. However, after a police inspection, he said the request was declined.

“You guys are safe. You don’t need it, so we will not waste money on that,” Patel claimed the police told him.

'Ten robberies in four years'

Patel, who came to New Zealand in 2017, is the co-owner of Chicken Wicken, which operates three branches in Hamilton with two other business partners and about 15 staff members across the outlets.

In the last four years, Patel said his eatery business has faced eight robberies, and two this time.

“Nobody is ready to work the night shifts, which is the time when the business is most busy,” Patel explained.
“As an owner, I feel sorry for them. The hardworking staff we have, some are married, some are single, some have kids, some have to pay mortgages,” he said.
“Who would have thought there would be two robberies on two consecutive nights?”

Patel said during the first robbery this week, staff activated the panic button, fled through the back door, and called him to inform him. During the second robbery, staff did not press the panic button because they were too panicked and confused.

“I informed the police and the police arrived at the scene,” he said.

Patel said he is disappointed that there has been no visible progress in the police investigation so far.

Despite the challenges, Patel said closing the business is not an option.

“November, December, January, these three months the business is anyway slow due to the university holiday season. We cannot afford to shut the business down even for a day because 15 families are dependent on me,” he said.

The police said they would like to hear from anyone with information about either incident.

"If you can help, please use our 105 service and reference number 260312/1580."