Columbia restaurant hit again by vandals
Serving of foie gras appears to be motive for targeting Iron Bridge
By Mike Santa Rita
msantarita@patuxent.com
Posted 4/13/09
For the second time in less than a month, vandals struck a Columbia restaurant that serves foie gras, one of its owners said Monday.
“There’s an agenda here and we just don’t believe you’re going to win that argument with us by smashing our windows,” Steve Wecker, one of the owners of Iron Bridge Wine Company, said Monday.
The vandalism occurred overnight between Sunday and Monday, Wecker said Two rocks were thrown through the panels of a window of the restaurant. While no messages were attached to the vandalism, Wecker said he believes it is connected to a March vandalism incident in which “Get rid of foie gras” was painted across the stone entranceway to the restaurant. In that incident, four windows were smashed and the door locks to the restaurant were jammed with glue, Wecker said.
“It could be Tibetan Independence, but I doubt it,” Wecker said of the reason behind the most recent incident.
Foie gras is liver from a fattened goose or duck. Some groups say the manner in which the delicacy is produced is inhumane because it can involve over-feeding or forced feeding.
So far, the vandals have caused between $4,000 and $5,000 in damages to his restaurant, Wecker said.
Police received a call at 7:47 a.m. Monday from an employee of the restaurant in the 10400 block of Clarksville Pike, said police spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen. Two softball-sized rocks had been thrown through a window, she said.
Police believe the vandalism is linked to the previous incident, she said. “It’s isolated at this restaurant,” she said.
Schroen added that the owners have installed video surveillance, and that police will be inspecting the footage.
Wecker said that he and his brother Rob, who own the restaurant, are not backing down. Since the last incident, the owners have instituted a Foie Gras Friday in which foie gras is served in three different ways, he said.
The restaurant also has begun selling “Got Foie Gras?” T-shirts and business has been brisk, he said. Staff members are also wearing the T-shirts, he said.
“We’re not giving in to terrorism,” Wecker said “If they think that we’re going to say, 'Well, OK, fine, you win,' they’re incorrect.”
“There’s an agenda here and we just don’t believe you’re going to win that argument with us by smashing our windows,” Steve Wecker, one of the owners of Iron Bridge Wine Company, said Monday.
The vandalism occurred overnight between Sunday and Monday, Wecker said Two rocks were thrown through the panels of a window of the restaurant. While no messages were attached to the vandalism, Wecker said he believes it is connected to a March vandalism incident in which “Get rid of foie gras” was painted across the stone entranceway to the restaurant. In that incident, four windows were smashed and the door locks to the restaurant were jammed with glue, Wecker said.
“It could be Tibetan Independence, but I doubt it,” Wecker said of the reason behind the most recent incident.
Foie gras is liver from a fattened goose or duck. Some groups say the manner in which the delicacy is produced is inhumane because it can involve over-feeding or forced feeding.
So far, the vandals have caused between $4,000 and $5,000 in damages to his restaurant, Wecker said.
Police received a call at 7:47 a.m. Monday from an employee of the restaurant in the 10400 block of Clarksville Pike, said police spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen. Two softball-sized rocks had been thrown through a window, she said.
Police believe the vandalism is linked to the previous incident, she said. “It’s isolated at this restaurant,” she said.
Schroen added that the owners have installed video surveillance, and that police will be inspecting the footage.
Wecker said that he and his brother Rob, who own the restaurant, are not backing down. Since the last incident, the owners have instituted a Foie Gras Friday in which foie gras is served in three different ways, he said.
The restaurant also has begun selling “Got Foie Gras?” T-shirts and business has been brisk, he said. Staff members are also wearing the T-shirts, he said.
“We’re not giving in to terrorism,” Wecker said “If they think that we’re going to say, 'Well, OK, fine, you win,' they’re incorrect.”
user comments (1)
user mdl7 says...
Hey Wecker brothers - stand your ground. There are people that are supporting you in this county. Do not give in.
Posted 8:40 AM, 04.14.09
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