It was a big letdown for Brownies en Downies, the Eindhovens lunchroom run by people with Down. On Wednesday night their food trailer disappeared. The thieves were presumably looking for precisely this type of trailer.
Next week Brownies & Downies were to cater for the new students during TU Eindhoven introduction week. Robin Walschots, owner of the Eindhoven branch, could hardly wait to use the food truck and trailer for the first time. Unfortunately the theft put a spanner in his wheels. The lock on the door of his private storage room in Veghel was broken and there was no trace of his food truck.
The truck is only twelve months old. “We bought it last year to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our Eindhoven branch”, says Walschots. However, “ the joy of their ownership was short-lived. The parties and other events, such as the TU introduction week, had to be cancelled, to the great chagrin of the owner.
Camera footage
Brownies & Downies are not the only victim. Jesse Scharff, owner ‘Topfeestjeverhuur’ has also had to cancel all planned events.For a year now, the young entrepeneur and his wife have run a rental firm for parties and other events. Their food truck has also disappeared. On Wednesday evening the trailer was still in its customary spot, but camera footage shows it being towed away at half past three at night.
The Scharffs’ foodtruck was brand new and was used as an ice cream truck for children’s parties. “Besides bouncy castles and other inflatables we wanted to offer our customers something extra”, says the owner. “I notified the police and then cancelled all future appointments and refunded the money. Which means I lose a lot of income”.
The food truck, customised for the sale of icecream, was stolen smack in the middle of the peak icecream season. We have not even been able to use it once”, he says, looking glum.
The two owners of the stolen food trucks suspect that whoever stole the one also stole the other. Both food trucks are so-called food trailers of the same brand, Mobilchef. These trailers can be towed by a normal car with a towbar and are therefore easier to steal than a traditional food truck. Because they were parked some four kilometres apart, the owners suspect a planned operation to steal both.
The two are hoping that people will help them find the trailers. A call on people to look out for the trailers posted on a food truck sales Facebook page has already been shared 900 times. “So many extra pairs of eyes is good”, says Scharff. “Having said that, we should also be realistic. Get it over the border, paint it a different colour, and no one will recognise it”.
Source Studio040
Translated and edited by Greta
