Vandals hit Terrace Restaurant 6 times in 2 weeks

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The owner of the Terrace Restaurant in Delaware Park is trying to wrap his head around why anybody would want to vandalize his restaurant, not once, not twice, but six times in a two-week timeframe.

"Egging the place, throwing furniture off the patio and into the lake, breaking furniture, just mischief," said Jason Davidson, the restaurant's co-owner.

Four of the incidents were reported to police with two other instances also occurring where the owner says the suspects got scared off before they could do too much damage. They are believed to be teenagers and were caught on the restaurant's surveillance system.

"We're hoping we can identify these kids and that there's some real repercussions," Davidson said. "It's happening in the middle of the night when everyone's gone home and it's quiet, and the police come through and do patrols but they can't watch it 24 hours a day. It's one o'clock in the morning, four o'clock in the morning, they just keep coming back and hitting it."

The group of suspects, believed to be teenagers, have reportedly thrown eggs onto the outside of the building and damaged outside furniture, even going as far as to throw some of the deck chairs into Hoyt Lake, which sits along the backside of the restaurant, causing thousands in damages.

Despite the repeated acts of vandalism, Davidson told WIVB News 4 that it's not stopping the restaurant from operating. In fact, he and his staff, along with the city, have all rallied together each time to clean everything up and make repairs.

"We clean it up and put it back together," Davidson said. "The city has been sending out people to help clean up the glass and board up. We've been able to dress it up. But it's been tough, it's been a lot of expense."

The restaurant is also a popular venue for weddings. Since the incidents, staff said a number of brides-to-be have reached out with concerns. While WIVB cameras were there, there was one man who was scouting the location for his big day. He was disgusted by what happened but said it won't influence his choice to have his wedding there.

"It's sad that those things happened," said Zach Raber. "We were all teenagers once. I think it's a lot of boredom and they must not have anything to do. I always say, not good people, or trouble travels, so it's still a great venue, one that we're highly considering and I don't think it will scare us away."

Davidson says he's thankful for the tremendous outpouring of community support. He continues to be in close contact with Buffalo Police, who are still investigating.