VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) -
Blenz Coffee has become the first downtown Vancouver business to launch a lawsuit against the people behind last Wednesday's riot.
The Vancouver-based company is seeking compensation not only for the damage, but for the trauma rioters put the employees through. President George Moen says it will be weeks before their location on Georgia Street will be re-opened:
"Every window was broken. All of the refrigeration was broken. All of the chairs were thrown about and broken. Our expensive espresso machine was trashed. Cash registers were broken and now have to be reordered," he says.
He says the franchisee at that location is deeply traumatized. "She was trapped along with two other staff members and customers for two and a half hours. She lost her car, which was torched. She lost her business while people had fun breaking her windows."
Two other Blenz stores were hit by vandals that night.
So far, no names are attached to the lawsuit, but Moen is confident it will only be a matter of time before individuals are identified. He says he's ultimately looking for financial compensation and apologies from those responsible.