The day after the firebombing, about $5,000 worth of technology and equipment was stolen from the burnt-out cafe. When the couple entered the shop after the robbery, Sharma says it felt as if their \u201cdream had been ripped away\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like a warzone,\u201d he says. \u201cThe roof had melted off \u2013 soot everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n The couple have set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for repairing and replacing equipment, paying outstanding staff and supplier costs and planning a new home for And Bodega.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only reason we\u2019re positive is because of the people,\u201d Sharma says. \u201cIt\u2019s really overwhelming the love and support.\u201d<\/p>\n Purohit, who grew up in Mumbai and trained as a pastry chef in India, says the couple have also received offers from fellow small businesses to donate portions of their profits to the couple, host fundraisers and drop off ice-cream.<\/p>\n \u201cWords can\u2019t describe just how seen and loved we feel,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n And Bodega was damaged in a suspected arson attack that gutted the neighbouring tobacco store<\/p>\n Sharma says when a police officer was collecting CCTV from the couple, he remarked that all the local residents were asking about their cafe.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said I don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve done but everyone we speak to is asking about your cafe and is very sad it has been affected so you must have done some sort of magic,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Emergency services were called to respond to reports of an explosion on St Georges Road at about 3.40am on Monday.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |When needed<\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Police investigators believe one or multiple offenders forced entry into the tobacco shop and set it alight.<\/p>\n One person who lives nearby told the ABC she felt her apartment building rocked by the force of the explosion.<\/p>\n The tobacconist was completely destroyed, while And Bodega and other neighbouring business were damaged, police said in a statement.<\/p>\n Guardian Australia has previously reported on how small businesses located near tobacconists are being denied insurance or priced out of coverage <\/a>as rising arson attacks turn neighbouring shops into collateral damage.<\/p>\n The couple say their contents insurance, taken out prior to the tobacco store opening, is expected to provide a payout of about $25,000. But the funds are not expected to cover the costs of rebuilding the cafe at the same location.<\/p>\n Damage to And Bodega by the neighbouring fire. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAP<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792004534_702_2998.jpg\")
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