Melbourne cafe owner sends powerful message to thief who robbed her

A cafe owner whose shop was robbed by a thief has extraordinarily shown empathy for the culprit in a powerful message shared online. 

Gloria’s Cafe in Ferntree Gully in Melbourne was robbed on Saturday morning after a man broke through the front door of the establishment.

Owner Gloria Sooba later wrote a message on the cafe’s Facebook page about the robbery and expressed a level of understanding of what the thief was ‘going through’ to commit the heinous crime.

Gloria’s Cafe (pictured) in Ferntree Gully in Melbourne was robbed on Saturday morning

Cafe owner Gloria Sooba posted a message on social media about the robbery and expressed empathy for the culprit 

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‘To the man who robbed my cafe. Not the way I wanted to start the weekend,’ she began.

‘I know everyone is doing it tough and as a small business I understand that, I also understand that from a personal level more than ever, I’ve been in some very dark places and I have always picked myself up and pushed myself to move ahead.’

Miss Sooba addressed the thief directly, writing, ‘if you read this I get it, I’ve been in the pits of hell and I know how hard it is, I also know no one can judge you as hard as you do to yourself, this is how I changed my mind set’.

‘A mistake isn’t a mistake if you learn from it, it’s a lesson.’

‘I hope you find the strength to get through what ever you are going through, just remember one step at a time,’ she added. 

The post from the cafe owner garnered a strong positive reaction from Victorians who applauded Gloria’s empathetic message.

Some claimed they’d make an effort to get to the cafe and also spread the word about the shop to support Miss Sooba. 

 

 

The post from Miss Sooba received a strong positive reaction from Victorians in the comment section

Many said they’d make an effort to go to Gloria’s Cafe to support Miss Sooba’s small business 

‘Wow. You are an exceptional human being,’ wrote one.

‘Everyone should rally behind this cafe. What a remarkable post that deserves a lot of attention,’ said another.

A third commented: ‘Outstanding post. AMAZING.’

One respondent stated they actually worked in Ferntree Gully and would stop in for a coffee.

One woman tagged their friend on Facebook and suggested getting a coffee at the cafe.

Another user added: ‘Wow, you express such kindness and empathy towards an individual who has acted selfishly and in such desperation committed a crime.’ 

‘What a wonderful personality you have.’