Staff tips and wine stolen as thieves smash window of new Dublin bar
The smashed front window of Bootleg on Drury Street which was broken into last night
A new Dublin bar, which only opened in the last two months, has been robbed after thieves smashed through their front window.
Robert Hayes, the manager of Bootleg on Drury Street, woke up to the news that their cash register, wine bottle stocks and staff tip packets were stolen last night.
He said the city “needs more good people” to make sure bad things stop happening.
Mr Hayes said the most disappointing part of the incident was the staff tips being stolen, as they go above and beyond for the new venue.
“It seems our staff are out there policing the streets themselves. For us, the staff are trying to protect people as well as making sure they have a good time,” he said.
“Our staff tips got taken last night. They work really hard, long hours and they treat this place as their home, then that happens. It’s not the only place it’s happening.
“We were just getting on our feet. In this business, you have to be resilient. We’re here to give good vibes. We want our staff to be happy so they can make everyone else happy.
“What’s been really beautiful is other businesses reaching out to us. Our wine supplier said they’ll send us prosecco, food places said they’d feed the staff. That’s what makes it bearable. There’s more good than bad.
“We’re going to get on with it. We’re going to keep pushing, we’ve a community to support and we set up to serve our city, we’re not going to take from it.
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“We’re going to put a silver lining on it. We don’t let people like that win. It is really hard trying to police the streets while managing the business.
“We need more people in the city, for me, the Government isn’t doing anything to help that.
“That’s the bigger issue, there’s not enough people around and without them, it gets wild. They’re winning by scaring people off. We can’t let that happen, we need the good people to populate our city,” he added.
Tonight, the venue is throwing a ‘pity party’ and will split the price of a glass of Prosecco with the team to help them recover their stolen tips.
The ‘pity prosecco’ will cost €5, with €2.50 covering the costs and €2.50 towards replacing the staff tip fund.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from An Garda Síochána said: “Gardaí are investigating a burglary that occurred at a commercial premises on Drury Street in the early hours of Thursday, February 22.
“A number of items and a quantity of cash was reported as stolen. A technical examination has been conducted by the Scenes of Crime Unit. Enquiries are ongoing.”
