Old Montreal café launches fundraiser after ‘devastating' arson attack
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A popular café in Old Montreal has launched a fundraiser after being damaged in an arson attack that sent one suspect to hospital with burns.
Masked individuals were seen on surveillance footage breaking into Micro Espresso Café on St-Pierre St. around 4 a.m. Friday. The video shows the group smashing windows, dousing the interior with a flammable liquid and setting it alight. Some of the suspects appeared to be caught by the flames.
An 18-year-old man was arrested by after arriving at a hospital with severe burns. Montreal police say he is a suspect in the case.
'My shop is toast,' owner Simon Massaglia told The Gazette at the scene. He and his wife opened the café during the pandemic.
The incident was recorded from the building's shared lobby, which is also used by offices above.
'There is a sense of shock and anger that these idiots could so easily ruin a small business and so many people's livelihoods,' said Marc-André Séguin, who runs an immigration law firm in the building.
On Sunday, Massaglia launched a GoFundMe campaign. He told The Gazette that the 'loss is more significant than we could've imagined.' The fundraising goal is $85,000.
The campaign post reads in part: 'Our café was the target of a deliberate arson attack. In under a minute, it was broken into and set on fire. The flames destroyed nearly everything inside.
'We're devastated. This was our first café — the place where it all began. We poured our hearts, time and everything we had into building it.
'We're still waiting on an insurance evaluation, and even if support comes, it likely won't be enough — and it could take months. Meanwhile, Montreal's summer season is already underway — the most vital time of year for cafés like ours. Missing it would be a blow we may not recover from.
'Before we can reopen, we have to strip everything down, decontaminate the space and rebuild from the ground up.
'We're not trying to create something bigger or better — just to bring back the space that made so many people feel good. We want to continue putting smiles on faces, offering great coffee and giving our team their jobs back.'
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