Sucharu Malhotra, the wife of restaurant owner Sumit Malhotra, told SBS Hindi, “This person came twice. He came earlier and threw a few stones. He returned after some time with a hammer and broke the doors.”
The restaurant has posted on Facebook about the incident on May 3rd.
“We will keep going strong. After a successful year for Melbourne’s most loved Indian restaurant and covered by media for the top 5 restaurants last month our haters couldn’t digest the successful road we are on. Aangan Footscray was attacked last night by our haters yet again. This only puts us in the right direction to do what we best, i.e. serve the best Indian food in Australia and we will continue to do so. We thank Melbourne and our regular clients for their support as always,” the post reads.
It's the second time in the past few weeks that the restaurant was vandalised.
“The same person had stuck glue on our locks last month,” says Ms Malhotra.
The restaurant first came into the spotlight after vandals sprayed swastikas and white power slogans onto many stores and restaurants in west Footscray in 2016.
Mrs Malhotra, however, says she is not disheartened by this incident.
“We have more supporters than haters," she says. "Australia has given us so much love and support. Most of our customers are white people. I am not bothered by a few bad elements.”
Police are searching for a man reportedly seen in a hoodie.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
