Image courtesy of Brenda Chisholm-Beaton.

A restaurant owned and operated by the Town of Port Hawkesbury mayor was vandalized last night.

Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton opened the Fleur-de-Lis Tea Room and Dining Room 20 years ago and has run it alongside her family members ever since. She says she was gutted when she walked in this morning to find the front window had been smashed.

“It’s pretty discouraging, because for small businesses, particularly one like ours, we’re really busy in the summer, in the warmer weather. Oftentimes, you need that extra business to kind of get you through slower times, like in the winter,” said Chisholm-Beaton.

She said the incident will likely cost the restaurant thousands of dollars in repairs and lost revenue after it forced them to shut down this morning. The mayor says she finds it disheartening considering the work her and her staff put in to make the restaurant an inviting place for anyone to enjoy a bite to eat, particularly to people who may be visiting Port Hawkesbury for the first time.

“We take the pride in the restaurant, and we really want to create a welcoming vibe for newcomers, people that are new to the restaurant, new to Port Hawkesbury, or the Strait Area, or Cape Breton Island,” said Chisholm-Beaton.

On top of being upset by the incident, Chisholm-Beaton says she was confused by the tool that the vandals used to execute the crime. A jar of pickled jalapenos.

“Just seeing the glass and the jar of jalapenos… I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. It’s definitely strange,” said Chisholm-Beaton.

She says I also shows her that culprit or culprits weren’t looking to gai entry or steal anything from the restaurant. They just simply wanted to break something for the sake of it.

The community park was also vandalized earlier this summer, creating a trend that Chisholm-Beaton wants to stop. As the town’s mayor, she says she’ll be taking a look at ways to discourage vandalism and catch those who decide to do it anyway. She mentioned adding more security cameras throughout the community but noted that there’s no way to completely eradicate it.

In the meantime, says she’ll be working closely with the RCMP to make sure those responsible are caught.