This is a hate crime.
That’s the message posted on the Sirkel Foods Facebook page after the restaurant was vandalized with homophobic graffiti overnight.
Staff at the restaurant say they came to work at 5 o’clock Tuesday morning to find the graffiti spray painted across their door, window, and dumpster.
Kelly Ballantyne and her wife Mel own the business and she says they have received lots of support since the incident happened.
“We don’t have to let this one person win, we don’t have to be afraid of this one person who did this to our back door because our community is so amazing that love will always win over the hate.”
The Stratford Pride Community Centre is holding a meeting on Wednesday night to address the vandalism with LGBTQ+ residents and supporters.
SPCC President Bruce Duncan Skeaff says there’s a clear goal for the get-together.
“Put the people and the civic authority together in the same room and find out what we’re going to do about this sort of thing.”
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the centre on Downie Street.
Stratford Police have yet to comment on the incident.
