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| Shoreditch Cereal Killer Cafe targeted by anti-gentrification protesters | Shoreditch Cereal Killer Cafe targeted by anti-gentrification protesters |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The owners of a cereal cafe in east London have described their terror at being targeted by a group of anti-gentrification protesters who daubed the word “scum” on the cafe’s window. | The owners of a cereal cafe in east London have described their terror at being targeted by a group of anti-gentrification protesters who daubed the word “scum” on the cafe’s window. |
| Alan and Gary Keery, who own Cereal Killer Cafe in Shoreditch – which has been seen by some as a symbol of inequality in east London – described how an angry mob with torches and pigs’ heads gathered outside their premises on Saturday evening. | Alan and Gary Keery, who own Cereal Killer Cafe in Shoreditch – which has been seen by some as a symbol of inequality in east London – described how an angry mob with torches and pigs’ heads gathered outside their premises on Saturday evening. |
| Footage of the attack filmed from inside the shop and obtained by the Guardian shows a large group of masked protesters shouting outside the shopfront. One man daubs graffiti on the window while another is seen holding a burning stick. | Footage of the attack filmed from inside the shop and obtained by the Guardian shows a large group of masked protesters shouting outside the shopfront. One man daubs graffiti on the window while another is seen holding a burning stick. |
| Tonight we were attacked with paint and fire by an angry mob of 200. Riot police are on the scene. pic.twitter.com/GPXLmyMmuN | Tonight we were attacked with paint and fire by an angry mob of 200. Riot police are on the scene. pic.twitter.com/GPXLmyMmuN |
| Police said one officer had suffered a minor facial injury as a result of a flying bottle and that one person had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage during the protests, which took place over a large area of the E2 postcode. | Police said one officer had suffered a minor facial injury as a result of a flying bottle and that one person had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage during the protests, which took place over a large area of the E2 postcode. |
| Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Alan Keery said: “There were children there – they were terrified. The staff were absolutely terrified. It was an angry mob throwing paint at the windows. They had torches and pigs’ heads.” | Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Alan Keery said: “There were children there – they were terrified. The staff were absolutely terrified. It was an angry mob throwing paint at the windows. They had torches and pigs’ heads.” |
| His brother Gary told the Guardian on Sunday morning: “It’s senseless violence, isn’t it? We’ve had some letters through the letterbox saying ‘die hipsters’ and stuff but nothing to this extreme. It just doesn’t make sense. According to Twitter it was a 1,000-strong crowd that were walking around. | |
| “It was just us that was targeted – it wasn’t as if they were walking past and just happened to stumble upon us. They were deliberately coming here, throwing cereal and shouting ‘gentrification’, ‘anarchy’.” | “It was just us that was targeted – it wasn’t as if they were walking past and just happened to stumble upon us. They were deliberately coming here, throwing cereal and shouting ‘gentrification’, ‘anarchy’.” |
| Gary described how customers barricaded the cafe door closed when the disturbance started, but they then had to be moved downstairs for their own safety. | |
| When police cleared the protesters, staff took shelter in the Dark Sugars Chocolates store next door. “These staff are just here to work. There’s customers in and they’re terrified for their lives,” he said. | When police cleared the protesters, staff took shelter in the Dark Sugars Chocolates store next door. “These staff are just here to work. There’s customers in and they’re terrified for their lives,” he said. |
| Related: Can the Cereal Killer cafe, which sells only cereal, really make a killing? | Related: Can the Cereal Killer cafe, which sells only cereal, really make a killing? |
| Gary said the protesters managed to break into the cafe, throwing a smoke or paint bomb into the hallway and hurling cereal and furniture inside the shop. “If they really believe in the protest, why are they covering their face while they’re doing it? Why are they wearing pig masks? | |
| “It’s not just the fact that someone threw paint on the windows, there’s more of a deep-rooted issue that needs to be looked at. You need to look at why they’re attacking us.” | “It’s not just the fact that someone threw paint on the windows, there’s more of a deep-rooted issue that needs to be looked at. You need to look at why they’re attacking us.” |
| The cereal cafe has sparked controversy since its opening in December last year. The Keery brothers were forced to defend their prices after a Channel 4 interviewer asked whether local people could afford £3.20 for a bowl of cereal. | The cereal cafe has sparked controversy since its opening in December last year. The Keery brothers were forced to defend their prices after a Channel 4 interviewer asked whether local people could afford £3.20 for a bowl of cereal. |
| Gary dismissed the suggestion that his business had become a symbol of east London gentrification. “There’s another Pret at the top of the street here and that wasn’t targeted. We’re an independent business, we’ve got two shops, we’ve only been open months,” he said. | Gary dismissed the suggestion that his business had become a symbol of east London gentrification. “There’s another Pret at the top of the street here and that wasn’t targeted. We’re an independent business, we’ve got two shops, we’ve only been open months,” he said. |
| “If you want to talk about gentrification and different classes, you don’t go about attacking independent businesses who are putting their whole life on the line to open a business, you go to the conglomerates and big companies.” | “If you want to talk about gentrification and different classes, you don’t go about attacking independent businesses who are putting their whole life on the line to open a business, you go to the conglomerates and big companies.” |
| Whatever happened in Shoreditch tonight is making my life exceedingly difficult pic.twitter.com/g2jXaEVpJu | Whatever happened in Shoreditch tonight is making my life exceedingly difficult pic.twitter.com/g2jXaEVpJu |
| On its website, the cafe is described as “the UK’s first speciality cereal cafe”. The attack appeared to have no effect on customer numbers, as a long queue of hungry punters stretched out on to Brick Lane on Sunday morning. | On its website, the cafe is described as “the UK’s first speciality cereal cafe”. The attack appeared to have no effect on customer numbers, as a long queue of hungry punters stretched out on to Brick Lane on Sunday morning. |
| Opposite the cafe, many of the stallholders on the street’s bustling Sunday market had not noticed the red paint daubed over the shop front. One stallholder thought the Cereal Cafe’s owners had done it themselves as a Halloween decoration. | Opposite the cafe, many of the stallholders on the street’s bustling Sunday market had not noticed the red paint daubed over the shop front. One stallholder thought the Cereal Cafe’s owners had done it themselves as a Halloween decoration. |
| Another was less than sympathetic when told that the shop had come under siege. “In a way they kind of bring this on themselves. They thrive on this. They need this controversy otherwise nobody would come,” she said, declining to be named. | Another was less than sympathetic when told that the shop had come under siege. “In a way they kind of bring this on themselves. They thrive on this. They need this controversy otherwise nobody would come,” she said, declining to be named. |
| Her neighbour, selling books and antiques, said she believed the attack was an elaborate PR stunt by the Cereal Cafe, which she said had polarised the community by charging high prices. | Her neighbour, selling books and antiques, said she believed the attack was an elaborate PR stunt by the Cereal Cafe, which she said had polarised the community by charging high prices. |
| “Lots of my customers don’t like the shop,” she said. “If they want to start charging £3 for water and people want to pay it – it’s not my cup of tea. You have to be brainless maybe but people pay it.” | “Lots of my customers don’t like the shop,” she said. “If they want to start charging £3 for water and people want to pay it – it’s not my cup of tea. You have to be brainless maybe but people pay it.” |
| Anti-gentrification tonight in Shoreditch #FuckParade #classwar pic.twitter.com/qK9IWnh5kp | Anti-gentrification tonight in Shoreditch #FuckParade #classwar pic.twitter.com/qK9IWnh5kp |
| Saturday’s protest was advertised on Facebook as the third “Fuck Parade”, and was apparently organised by the anarchist group Class War. The event page stated: “Our communities are being ripped apart – by Russian oligarchs, Saudi sheiks [sic], Israeli scumbag property developers, Texan oil-money twats and our own home-grown Eton toffs. Local authorities are coining it in, in a short-sighted race for cash by ‘regenerating’ social housing. | Saturday’s protest was advertised on Facebook as the third “Fuck Parade”, and was apparently organised by the anarchist group Class War. The event page stated: “Our communities are being ripped apart – by Russian oligarchs, Saudi sheiks [sic], Israeli scumbag property developers, Texan oil-money twats and our own home-grown Eton toffs. Local authorities are coining it in, in a short-sighted race for cash by ‘regenerating’ social housing. |
| “We don’t want luxury flats that no one can afford, we want genuinely affordable housing. We don’t want pop-up gin bars or brioche buns, we want community.” | “We don’t want luxury flats that no one can afford, we want genuinely affordable housing. We don’t want pop-up gin bars or brioche buns, we want community.” |
| A Twitter account that appeared to be live-tweeting the protest shared a picture of the cafe with the words: “Cereal cafe. £5 for cereal when people are starving. Fuck gentrification. Fuck cutesy boutiques and coffee shops. Homes for everyone.” | A Twitter account that appeared to be live-tweeting the protest shared a picture of the cafe with the words: “Cereal cafe. £5 for cereal when people are starving. Fuck gentrification. Fuck cutesy boutiques and coffee shops. Homes for everyone.” |
| Due to an impromptu demo, Old Street Roundabout is currently blocked. Expect delays on all approaches. pic.twitter.com/qyRszSWJ68 | Due to an impromptu demo, Old Street Roundabout is currently blocked. Expect delays on all approaches. pic.twitter.com/qyRszSWJ68 |
| Scotland Yard said it had arrested one person in relation to the incident. In a statement, the Met said: “On Saturday 26 September, police officers dealt with disorder arising from a pre-planned event in the Shoreditch area. | Scotland Yard said it had arrested one person in relation to the incident. In a statement, the Met said: “On Saturday 26 September, police officers dealt with disorder arising from a pre-planned event in the Shoreditch area. |
| “From around 8pm, a criminal element within a group of several hundred people threw missiles and caused criminal damage to shops and other businesses in and around Brick Lane, E2. The group continued to move around the Shoreditch and Brick Lane area until around 12.30am on Sunday 27 September.“One officer suffered a minor injury to his face as a result of a bottle thrown. One person has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.” | “From around 8pm, a criminal element within a group of several hundred people threw missiles and caused criminal damage to shops and other businesses in and around Brick Lane, E2. The group continued to move around the Shoreditch and Brick Lane area until around 12.30am on Sunday 27 September.“One officer suffered a minor injury to his face as a result of a bottle thrown. One person has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.” |