Kitsilano business closes after car drives into store in attempted burglary

A business owner in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood has been left shaken after a car drove into her storefront in an apparent smash-and-grab burglary attempt Monday morning.

The incident happened just after 4 a.m. at scooter store Urban Machina Inc. on Cypress Street. Security footage shared with CityNews shows a vehicle driving into the front of the store twice in less than a minute. Photos of the scene show extensive damage to the front of the store, including metal door frames that are bent out of shape.

Urban Machina Inc. in Kitsilano. The storefront was damaged after a vehicle rammed into it as part of an attempted smash-and-grab robbery. (Submitted by: Olivia Yau)

“It’s not any normal break and enter,” the store’s co-founder, Olivia Yau told CityNews.  “It’s not just shattered glass, or a broken door, or someone cutting your gate. To drive a car through your front door on purpose was quite scary.”

Yau says no one was in the store at the time and nobody was hurt, adding the metal gate at the front of the store preventing anything from being stolen. However, her store will have to remain closed for up to two months so the damage can be repaired.

“Spring and summer is our busiest season for scooters… there are a lot of financial losses. We’re not able to sell something where typically it’s our highest sales numbers,” she said.

Olivia Yau, Urban Machina Co-founder. (CityNews Image)

The area is normally quiet, Yau explains, making the incident even more of a shock.

“We wanted to be part of this community and we still do. So, I know this is maybe just a one-off thing in this neighbourhood,” she said.

The Vancouver Police Department confirms its Property Crime Unit is investigating the incident.

In the meantime, Yau says her store will still sell the scooters online.