After an exciting week where Hollywood A-lister Angelina Jolie visited, owners of Nero Waffles Jan Dierckx and Eilnaz Taagholi were over the moon. But just days after the excitement, the duo received a call on Saturday that their recently opened South Granville location was broken into. Unfortunately, this is nothing new for the co-owners of Nero Waffles.
Dished spoke with Dierckx, who said they were excited with all the new customers visiting after the celebrity visit and that they went from “a high to a complete low” after the news of the break-in. This recent incident will mark the fifth break-in for Nero Waffles since 2013.
“We’ve been in business for about 13 years. That’s definitely not an excuse for being broken into five times. It still sucks,” said Dierckx.
However, Dierckx is thankful that nothing of value was stolen.
“They smashed the glass, entered the store, looked around a bit, and then just left. So I don’t know if the alarm scared them off or if it was just a random act of vandalism,” he said.
“It feels really bad when people violate or damage something that you’ve put so much work, effort, love, and passion into. And all small businesses are like that. They’re just little pieces of you. It’s not just a business for us; it’s way more.”
As for costs, Dierckx opted to board up the door himself instead of paying the hefty fee to have someone do it for him.
“I know from experience, and the reason why we boarded up the door ourselves, is it costs close to $700 just to put a piece of plywood onto a broken window or door, and even if insurance would cover it, I think that’s ridiculous. I’m pretty handy myself, so I just went to Home Depot, got all the materials, and boarded up the door, which was probably way faster and way cleaner than if we had to call a company to come out and get it fixed,” said Dierckx.
He also added that this cost is just for boarding up the door, not for the glass replacement itself, which he estimated could cost between $600 and $900.
“You get the reaction of ‘Oh, insurance will cover it, right?’ Well, yes and no. They do in a way. But with most insurances, there is a deductible to be paid. I don’t know exactly what our deductible is or will be for this claim. It could be $500, could be $750, which means that the first $750 of the costs are for us to take anyways. And then, if you make a claim, your premiums might go up and likely won’t go down. The insurance is probably okay if this is a one-time thing, and they will cover it, but as I mentioned, this is not the first time it has happened. So, at some point, the insurance company will look into your file, and they’re like, ‘Well, this is the fifth time; we can’t keep paying for this unless we increase your premiums.’ So, in the end, it does cost us.”
However, the monetary loss isn’t what hurt Dierckx the most; it was the loss of time with his family and kids.
“Weekend mornings are pretty sacred at home, we all have breakfast together. Then, you get woken up by a call like that, and the kids aren’t even awake, and the night before, we’re talking about ‘What are we going to have for breakfast tomorrow,’ and they’re really excited. Then, they wake up and say ‘Oh, where’s daddy?’ and then they get told that daddy had to go to Nero because someone broke into the store,” said Dierckx.
“The damage and expenses involved obviously suck, but it’s more than just monetary,” he added. “What people often don’t realize about businesses is that there are people behind those businesses, and all of those little things affect our personal lives as well.”
Dierckx also added that it’s difficult enough for small businesses these days, and he’s not surprised by all the recent closures. “Even if a business is running well, it’s still very hard, and you can only take so many negative things. Those things really hit hard, especially when it’s another weekend morning, and you’ve got to go to the store and board up the doors instead of spending time with your family.”
So, what can people do to help? Dierckx said it’s as simple as swinging by and grabbing a box of waffles. He also encouraged people to preorder Nero’s mini heart-shaped waffles for Valentine’s Day.
“Supporting local businesses, especially in these times, is more important than ever. We’d be more than happy if people just got to know us as a local business and came in for some delicious waffles.”
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