Bungendore will hold a community meeting, with Bombay Pavilion co-owner Reddy Manne hoping it brings people together. Photo: James Webster Facebook.
A Bungendore restaurant, open for less than six months, has allegedly been twice targeted by burglars.
Bungendore’s first Indian restaurant, Bombay Pavilion, has found a home in the building that used to house Le Tres Bon (a French restaurant that closed its doors in late 2023).
Reddy Manne, one of the owners, alleged that the first break-in was discovered after the King’s Birthday break, while a second was less than a fortnight later.
He said the first alleged incident was discovered when staff went to work and found the restaurant was damaged and money had been taken.
“I went inside, and then we realised … the door was shattered and was pretty much falling apart,” he told Region.
A few weeks later, Mr Manne said alleged thieves broke in again and took some alcohol and an iPad.
“[With the] two incidents in a row, they’re [staff] a bit concerned,” he said.
Mr Manne said the alleged break-ins cost the business around $5000 in repairs.
“When they [the police] left, we’ve got to wipe everything and vacuum so there’s no glass anywhere.
“All the basic housekeeping things, we’ve got to do it.”
Bombay Pavilion, at the former Le Tres Bon location in Bungendore, said the alleged break-ins were challenging. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Bungendore organised an upcoming community meeting to discuss creating a neighbourhood watch group.
“It will be a good thing for the community as well, and keep not only the business, but the people around [town] safe, as well.”
“I think it’s a good idea to do that … [At the meeting] we want to see if there is anything else we can do to secure the place in a better way, so that this won’t happen.”
Mr Manne hoped the meeting would bring residents together.
“We don’t want the community to be in a situation where they’re scared of going out at night [or] they’re scared of closing a shop and finding some surprises in the morning.”
Mr Manne said while there had been “small incidents” in recent weeks, Bungendore was still a close-knit community.
Several people had placed extra orders with the restaurant after the alleged break-ins to show their support. He also said the team wanted to plan something to show their gratitude.
“It’s a good community locally. We are so blessed to be there and saw great support from the community … everybody came forward to show their displeasure over the incident, and they were surprised,” he said.
“There was a lot of social media buzz going around in the town.”
Bombay Pavilion is located at 40 Malbon Street and is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Stay up to date via its website, Facebook page and Instagram.
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