George Habib’s dreams of opening a café have been shattered. 76247 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By XAVIER SMERDON
A SINGLE father from Hoppers Crossing with a dream to open his own café has been dealt a heartless blow that has left him questioning his future.
George Habib, a single father of six children all under the age of 10, has been trying to open a café in Warringa Crescent in Hoppers Crossing for the last six months, but has been halted by repeated break-ins.
Last week he arrived at his store in the morning to find it had been gutted.
The thieves stole a large Coke machine, a security system and knocked over a wall in their crime spree.
“The destruction they’ve done is just wrong,” Mr Habib told Star.
“I was one month away from opening. I even had pictures up on the walls of how I wanted everything to look.
“I’m at the point now where I don’t even know if I want to go through with it anymore.”
Mr Habib said Warringa Crescent, a small strip of shops in Hoppers Crossing, had become a notorious hotspot for vandals and petty thieves.
One of his neighbouring stores had a cash register stolen which was later found dumped in a park, while another had its security roller door ripped off in an attempted robbery.
“It’s turned me off the place. I didn’t even want to walk in the front door today,” Mr Habib said.
“It doesn’t matter what you put in their way they (the thieves) just get through it.”
Anyone with information about the robbery or any others in the area should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
