Montreal restaurant broken into twice as owner works to reopen

A Montreal man is in shock after his restaurant was broken into twice in a week.

Cosimo Di Perna has owned Riventino Restaurant in LaSalle for 20 years.

He said someone smashed his window and ran off with as many wine bottles as they could carry.

"Shocking," he said. "I felt violated."

Then on Friday morning, it happened again.

"Last night, at midnight, I get another phone call, another break in, another motion detector happened," said Di Perna. "So we came right away. Another broken window. That made me very upset."

The first smash-and-grab was caught on security cameras, and the owner said it will cost thousands of dollars to complete the repairs.

Di Perna is trying to pick up the pieces in time to open his dining room next week after being forced to close as part of Quebec's COVID-19 pandemic measures.

"I was like, no way, it cannot happen, not at this time," said Di Perna. "We’re just trying to get back to normal next week. It just didn’t feel right."

Even if police can find the culprit, Di Perna is not sure he wants police to charge them.

He just wants to operate his business.

"I just don’t want it to happen again," he said. "I want to come in here in the morning and just work. What are you going to press charges for? It’s probably just someone who’s desperate, you know. We’re in desperate times. Just, stop doing this. It’s costing me money."

Di Perna said he filed a police report and will open his dining room next week even with a broken window.