The Kingsbrae Garden Café was vandalized and damaged by fire on March 31, 2019. (Submitted/Kingsbrae Garden)
The Kingsbrae Garden Café in St. Andrews is undergoing repairs after someone vandalized the building and started a fire.
Brad Henderson, the operations director, said their chef was dropping off items around 9:45 a.m. Sunday when he saw debris and a broken window.
The chef summoned Henderson and several other staff members, who noticed a strong smell of smoke in the building.
“The strong smell was coming from the women’s washroom,” said Henderson. “We did see a couple of other spots where a fire had been attempted to be started, but the actual one that took off was in the women’s washroom.”
Fire crews contained the flames to the women’s washroom area but there is smoke damage and vandalism throughout the building.
The Kingsbrae Garden Café was vandalized and damaged by fire on March 31, 2019. (Submitted/Kingsbrae Garden)
Henderson said the situation could have been a lot worse had the chef not showed up when he did.
“If he just decided to come in at 10:45 a.m. it would have been a different story,” Henderson said.
RCMP Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh confirmed a 26-year-old man was arrested inside the building after the fire was extinguished.
Christopher Briand of Ontario is charged with break and enter, arson, theft, breach of probation, and mischief. During a court appearance Monday, Briand was sent for a five-day psychiatric assessment and is scheduled to return to court on April 8.
Henderson said they hope to have the café repaired before the gardens reopen in May.
“We’re optimistic but that’s not that far away so it could be a challenge,” he said. “Either way, the garden itself will open May 17th.”
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