It’s been a bad week for Carol Logan, owner of Carol’s Quality Sweets in Edmonton.
She spent four days sifting out glass from candy after suspected thieves tossed a piece of concrete through her High Street shop window near 104th Avenue and 124th Street.
“The muntin bar on the front door was pulled off and all I could see was a heap of glass on the sidewalk,” Logan told CBC News Friday, recalling the scene when she arrived at her store on Monday morning.
“You just step through what was once a window and walk on this pile of the glass.”
Suspected thieves stole about $250 from a cash register and tip jar after breaking in to Carol’s Quality Sweets on July 16. (Jeannice Logan)
Police called Logan around 7:30 a.m. Monday to alert her to the break in.
Once inside the store, thieves allegedly pried open the cash register and also stole a tip jar. In total, Logan estimates they made off with about $250.
“They never took a piece of candy. They were after money,” she said.
Nearly 100 boxes of candy trashed
Logan says the concrete block sent shards of glass nearly 12 metres to the back of her store.
The store has 1,000 different confectionery products, some of which are displayed in open boxes and shelves.
Logan noticed immediately there was glass near or on several of the display cases, so she called Alberta’s food and safety department to see what her options were.
“The rule of thumb is, ‘When in doubt, throw it out,'” said Logan. So she spent nearly 12 hours inspecting her products to see which ones may have been exposed to broken glass.
In the end, nearly 100 boxes of candy were tossed.
Possible random attack
Edmonton police confirmed they’re looking into the incident but no suspects have been identified.
Logan says initially they told her it was likely a random attack, and possibly one of opportunity.
“We were the only ones [in High Street] Maybe because you can see the cash register sitting on the counter, that might be why. But I don’t have an answer,” she said.
The store is insured, though the policy has a $1,000 deductible. Logan estimates the overall damage may be about $6,000.
“All of the [clean up] that comes from it … you feel so sad that people would come and do that. And for what? It’s so pointless,” she said.
The store reopened Friday, but the front door window won’t be replaced for at least two weeks.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Edmonton police.