‘Incredibly upsetting’: Christchurch cafe loses $2000 in produce after delivery stolen from out back

Monday, 13 July 2026

A South Brighton café has been left $2000 out of pocket after their delivery order was stolen from outside its back entrance just seconds after it had been dropped off during the busy Matariki long weekend.

Security footage from Dune Café shows a man waiting for a delivery truck to pull out of the driveway on Saturday morning before making off with the order — taking about 30 steaks and other produce worth approximately $2000 in total.

Owner Ruby-May Risdon said the theft happened at around 7.15am, on the back of one of the café's busiest weekends of the year.

“Sadly, this wasn’t just taking a meal — it has resulted in a significant loss for our café.”

The cafe has been targeted twice in a delivery theft. The first time was last year, when $900 of produce was stolen, which wasn’t covered by insurance due to $1000 excess.

Since posting about both incidents on social media, Risdon said others had flagged a familiar pattern — someone appearing to follow delivery trucks at businesses in the area.

“Like many others, we’re working hard to keep going through challenging times, and incidents like this have a real impact on our team and our ability to serve the community.”

This time, insurance “should be able to cover it”, she said, but that wouldn’t take away the extreme hassle it caused them, including the safety concern it brought for her staff and neighbouring properties.

“It ruins everyone’s sense of security,” Risdon said. “Our staff were minutes away from going outside. Some of them are young women, I wouldn’t have liked them to come across something like that.”

Despite the frustration, she was less angry and more concerned about the community’s struggles.

“We know so many people in our community are doing it tough right now, and if someone is genuinely struggling, we’re always happy to help with a hot meal. We’d much rather someone ask than feel they have no other option.”

Connected to community centre Bridge Hub, the cafe often gives back through initiatives like food pantry, or more recently shouting lunch for a group of 19 elderly people who had belongings stolen while they ate at Dune.

A police report has been filed. Anyone with information is asked to contact the café via Facebook Messenger.