\u201cMelbourne, are we really going to live like this?\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the question from an award-winning Melbourne chef who has been broken after pouring blood, sweat and tears into her work only to have her venues destroyed or stolen from seven times in three years.<\/p>\n
Sutinee Suntivatana \u2014 who goes by Tinee \u2014 is the Bangkok-born success story behind a number of hugely-popular Melbourne ventures.<\/p>\n
She has launched brunch icon Humble Rays, Japanese matcha hotspot Tori\u2019s Cafe and Carlton restaurant and co-working space called Midday.<\/p>\n
Last year, she won an Australian Good Food Guide Chef\u2019s Hat for Midday, which was then named Regale.<\/p>\n
Her hard work and dedication to the city and to creating good food is her passion. She loves Melbourne, but rising crime has had a direct and damaging impact on her.<\/p>\n
In a heartbreaking video posted online on Tuesday night, hours after thugs broke into one of her venues and stole her money, Tinee begged for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just a small business owner trying to make an honest living,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike so many others, we work hard, create jobs, support our community, pay our bills, and keep going even when the cost of running a business keeps getting higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the past 3\u20134 years, our businesses have been broken into more than six or seven times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had windows smashed, doors forced open, things stolen. We\u2019ve had calls in the middle of the night telling us that another one of our shops has been broken into.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd every time it happens, we pick ourselves up, repair the damage, improve security, add more cameras, spend more money and hope it doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how many times are small business owners expected to do this?\u201d<\/p>\n
She acknowledged that police are working hard and that there is no simple fix to crime \u2014 it is a \u201ccomplicated issue\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut surely the answer cannot simply be that business owners have to accept this as part of living and doing business in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople sometimes say, \u2018You should have better security,\u2019 or \u2018You should have done more to protect your shop.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why should the responsibility always fall on the victim?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should hardworking people have to go to bed wondering if the next phone call at 3am will be someone telling them their shop has been broken into again?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not asking for special treatment. We are asking to feel safe. We are asking for accountability. We are asking for something to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall businesses already carry so much \u2014 rising costs, rent, wages, bills and the responsibility of keeping people employed. We shouldn\u2019t also have to live with the constant fear that someone can simply smash their way into everything we have worked so hard to build.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Melbourne. I\u2019ve built my life and my businesses here, and I still believe in this city. But something needs to change. Because accepting this as \u2018normal\u2019 should never be the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Insane act after door kicked in<\/p>\n
In an interview with news.com.au on Wednesday, Tinee said \u201cWe\u2019re scared\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said that over the course of several years, she would have paid more than $60,000 of her own money to repair smashed windows, broken doors and replace stolen items including an entire security and CCTV system.<\/p>\n
On one occasion, a man was filmed at one of her cafes kicking the door in. She told news.com.au that he came back the next day with an insane request.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome guy kicked the door in. The next day he came back asking for free coffee. This is last year. I was like, \u2018This guy, motherf***er\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is also frustrated at being told she could do more to protect her businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople want to say \u2018that\u2019s normal in Melbourne\u2019, but its not. We need tougher laws, accountability, consequences for actions or if they break the laws. People have gone crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tinee, who moved from Bangkok to Melbourne 20 years ago and began working as a chef at the Grand Hyatt, says she chose the city for a reason. She believes it has struggled after the pandemic and with the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also feel sad for people. I walk my dog in the park and I see people really struggling, living in tents. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, they might turn to drugs \u2014 not everybody can make good decisions. We need tougher laws, we need some help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here in 2006 as an international student. I saved money, have a small business with my husband. I work in the business \u2014 I am in the kitchen right now making bagels, doing deliveries, every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are living in fear. I get phone calls from police at 3am. When I hear the phone I\u2019m straight up. They tell me \u2018your shop got smashed\u2019 and we have to drive there at 3am. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so bad, it makes me paranoid.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a separate post online, Tinee wrote that the stress is worse than losing money.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to waste my time feeling sad every time one of my shops gets broken into. I deal with it, fix the doors, replace the windows, clean up the mess and get the business running again,\u201d she wrote.
\u201cMoney we work so hard to earn ends up going to repairs, security, insurance that keeps getting more expensive every year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut honestly, the money isn\u2019t the hardest part. It\u2019s the stress of never knowing when it will happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n