Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Ek's Grill
October 03, 2021 - 9:27 AM
A Kelowna restaurant owner is feeling frustrated that a cherished Easter Island statue that served as an homage to his late father-in-law was stolen last night.
Bill Justus, one of the owners of EK’s Grill, said the statue was stolen sometime between 8 p.m., Oct. 2 and 6 a.m., Oct. 3.
This is the third time this year the restaurant has been vandalized, he said.
The Easter Island statue is two-and-a-half feet tall and it was placed at the restaurant’s entrance to its patio. The statue was bolted and locked to the patio but sometime overnight it was ripped from its bolts and someone tore down the post it was attached to. A set of lights was also ripped down, Justus said.
The building has cameras but they haven’t reviewed the footage as of Sunday morning since the building’s landlord isn’t available on weekends, he said.
“It’s getting a little frustrating. Restaurants, us and everyone else, are just trying to survive,” he said. “Our whole deck is surrounded by flowers, we’ve had people take flowers and plants, it’s insane.”
The RCMP has been called, he said. “If we catch the person, we will prosecute them, it’s really that simple for me.”
The statue was sentimental as it reminded Justus of his father-in-law Ernie Thatcher who owned Ernie’s Place Pub that used to be located at the corner of Dilworth Drive and Springfield Road. It closed in 2008.
“The statue had a big nose and so did he so that’s why we put it out there. It’s kind of an homage to him. It hits home, you feel a little violated,” Justus said.
The grill is also named after Ernie. “We decided to call this EK’s for Ernie’s Kids,” he said, adding the business is also owned by his wife Carmen Justus and her sister Tiffany Thatcher.
The RCMP could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday morning.
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