SOCIAL media went wild last week as Hillcrest commuters promptly shared photos of the spray-painted ‘meat is murder’ words below the Butcher Block sign at Hillcrest Corner.
Serge Bechard, general manager of Butcher Block, said, “Their stint seems to have backfired on them. We are all over social media and there are comments in support of us. Yes, we sell meat but we do not impose it on others.”
The restaurant closed at about 11pm on Wednesday, 13 June.
ChilliPlum Bistro, located in a centre opposite Hillcrest Corner, was also vandalised that same evening.
“My griller arrived early the next morning and sent me a text and picture. I raced down to see,” said Bechard. “We have never had any sort of problems like this before.”
Chilliplum Bistro posted a photo of the vandalism on its Facebook page, stating, “Two young white male vegans wearing beanies and hoodies, had some fun at Chilliplum at 10.04pm last night. We have them on camera, it’s just a matter of time. Unfortunately we cannot release the video as they could be minors. We have taken enough abuse from the vegan community.”
A local vegan, Nicole Brown, contacted Bechard after seeing the vandalism and offered her apologies on behalf of the local vegans for the incident. She later posted on the restaurant’s Facebook, “…We are sorry this happened to you, and I can assure you this is not how the majority of vegans are. We do not agree with this behaviour and I, personally, hope the people responsible are found and charged.”
Butcher Block Hillcrest took to its Facebook with a tongue-in-cheek response to the incident:
“To those who have beef with us, we totally appreciate and value your opinion (and high-rise writing skills) but don’t stress, we have no beef with you!
“There are some excellent vegetarian and vegan options in the greater Durban area for those unable to find something to their taste on our menu.”
It then listed five restaurants.
The wall has since been repainted.
The centre’s manager, Beverly Wilson, said, “The centre has no comment at this stage and advises that management is currently attending to the situation.”
1) how did they get so high up on the ButcherBlock sign?!
2) they obviously have NO clue to the food that ChilliPlum serves!
3) vandalism is illegal, regardless of your beliefs on a situation
4) I hope that if someone knows who the “young white males” are, they turn them into the police (sic)
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