Thieves broke into the shop on Walthamstow High Street on Friday. Despite taking off with an almost empty till, the owner is facing an £800 repair bill

By Marco Marcelline

A Caribbean takeaway in Walthamstow was the victim of a smash and grab that has left the owner with a likely repair bill of “at least £800”.

Thieves smashed a window at Jerk Fusion, at 4 Walthamstow High Street, and took off with the contents of the till. The till was smashed open and the tray was taken. Only loose change including two five pound notes were inside.

The incident happened while the shop was closed between 10pm on Thursday (16th November) and 7am on Friday (17th November).

An employee at the shop noted the smashed window on his arrival at 7am, and rang owner Jonathan Bryan. Jonathan told the Echo that thieves smashed the window with a brick, and then made off with the contents of the till.

The emptied till inside the shop. Credit: Jonathan Bryan

A video shared with the Echo shows a huge hole in the window of the front door, and a brick lying on the floor behind a counter. The kitchen and upstairs storage room appear to be left undisturbed.

Jonathan Bryan, who founded the Jerk Fusion store in 2019 after running it as a stall on Walthamstow Market for four years previously, said replacing the tempered glass window would set him back around £800. He is opting to avoid paying inflated insurance premiums that would kick in if he made an insurance claim.

Jonathan told the Echo that the cost of living crisis was having a stifling effect on their ability to operate: “We’re a small family-run business, and the cost of living is killing us. The price of electricity and gas is extremely high. This year has been difficult because of the cost of living crisis. Before we used to buy oil that cost us £18-20 for 20 litres, and now it’s £36. Before COVID, we paid £14 for 18-20 quarter pieces of chicken and now it’s £22.”

Jonathan added: “Police said 8 break-ins have occurred within a two week period [in the surrounding area]. I can’t remember the last time there’s been this many break-ins in such a short period of time.”

Despite being left “depressed and saddened” by the situation, Jonathan said he was “grateful” that they didn’t “ransack the store and steal everything – if they did we would’ve been taken out of business.”

If you have information on this break-in, please contact the police on the 101 number and cite CAD1219/17Nov23

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