Caffè Tucci: Sheffield café smashed-up and raided just weeks after devastating power cut costing thousands
“It has been a rough, rough week for us”
A Sheffield café already facing the cost of a devastating power cut, has been hit by another blow after burglars smashed their way in and stole cash.
Caffè Tucci on Surrey Street had only recently reopened after losing thousands of pounds, when the family-run business was targeted in the early hours of Saturday.
The café was forced to close again after the front window was smashed and hundreds of pounds were stolen from the tills.
Co-owner Salvatore Capasso said the business has been left reeling after a “rough, rough week”.
“At around 3.45am Saturday night, alarm was triggered - someone smashed the whole window. They went behind the till, took all the money inside, and just left,” he said.
“It was very fast, so I think they knew what they were looking for.
“A couple of hundred was stolen from the tills, the door was smashed and damaged - and still no good luck for us.”
The café remained closed until midday on Sunday as police investigated, meaning the family-run business was unable to trade during what Salvatore described as their busiest day.
“In the three, four hours we weren’t trading, we lost about £600 in sales,” he said.
“Weekends are usually our busiest days.”
Alongside the cost of not trading and the tills being cleared out - he has also been quoted £700 for repairs the smashed door.
It comes just days after Caffè Tucci was forced to close following a major power cut on July 30.
The outage left the café with thousands of pounds worth of spoiled food, damaged equipment and lost trading.
“Last week lost about £7000 after the power cut- so it’s all just stacking up now. We would need a very busy day to get back again,” he said.
“It has been a rough, rough week for us - it’s not very busy in Sheffield as it is, as it is summertime.
“So we have been hit a lot, a lot, a lot.”
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Despite the setbacks, Salvatore has refused to let the latest blow bring him down.
He posted videos of himself dancing on his social media after the burglary and said he was determined to remain positive.
“We are always happy, always dancing - life is only once and when something bad happens, something good is going to come,” he said.
“We just believe in being happy - that is all we can do.”
Salvatore asked the people of Sheffield to continue with their support.
“I hope people of Sheffield can come and support us - we are a very small business, family business,” he said.
“We try to give all the love when you come here - so yes, please support us and spread the love.”