Cardiff Café Break-In: Door Smashed, Cash Stolen 2026

Key Points

• Coffee Spot Cardiff, a family-owned cafe on Barrack Lane, was targeted by burglars very soon after midnight on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
• The cafe’s entrance door was damaged, with some money being stolen from it.
• According to owner Damyan Bochev, the money the cafe kept on its premises was around £30 in coins as they didn’t store much cash there at night.
• The cafe is co-owned by Damyan and his parents, who have been running it for three years now.
• It’s the second time in less than a year the same burglary happens to Coffee Spot; the first one occurred in November 2025 when the owners were away on their vacation.
• Unlike last year, the cafe was able to clean up and resume work the same day it happened.
• Speaking about the cost of repairs, Damyan said they included installing a new door and a till and mentioned the financial and emotional toll it took on the family.
• He also pointed out that independent businesses have hard times covering themselves with proper security system, especially including CCTV.
• South Wales Police confirmed the burglary in Coffee Spot which was reported in the early hours of November 3 and stated that further enquiries are taking place.
• The police encouraged people who might have some info about it or the surveillance footage of the crime scene to contact them referring to incident number 2600358982.
• The report also describes other cases of recent incidents affecting independent businesses in Cardiff including suspected burglary in Brød in Cardiff Bay in September and damage done to El Cabrón Tacos’ delivery van in Pontyclun over the weekend.

Cardiff (Wales Times) November 07, 2026 — A popular family-run café in uk/local/cardiff/">Cardiff has been targeted in an early-morning break-in, during which its front door was completely smashed and cash was stolen from the premises.

Coffee Spot Cardiff, on Barrack Lane, was broken into shortly after midnight on Tuesday, November 3. As reported by WalesOnline, police contacted co-owner Damyan Bochev at about 1am to inform him that the café had been targeted.

The incident comes almost a year to the day after a previous break-in at the same independent business. South Wales Police said the culprits smashed the front door and stole a quantity of cash, and confirmed that enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible.

How much cash was stolen?

Damyan Bochev said the intruders appeared to target the till, although the café had not been holding a large amount of money on site. He told WalesOnline that the business had stopped keeping cash on the premises, leaving only a small amount of change.

“I think they just went for the till even though there wasn’t a lot in there,” he said.

“We’ve stopped keeping cash on the premises so there was only a small bit of change — maybe about £30 in coins.”

The stolen amount was therefore limited, but the damage to the door and till has created unplanned costs for the family-run café. Damyan said the business now needs to pay for a replacement door and a new till.

Who owns Coffee Spot Cardiff?

Coffee Spot Cardiff is run by Damyan Bochev together with his mother and father. According to WalesOnline, the family has operated the café for three years.

Damyan said the business is small and closely connected to its local community, which he said makes incidents of this kind particularly difficult. “It’s family-run business, just me, my father and my mum,” he said.

He added that the impact is not only financial.

“We are just a small independent café and we love working with the local community. When something like this happens you just think, ‘why would you do that, you aren’t going to gain anything’.”

Is this the second break-in at the café?

Yes. This is the second time Coffee Spot Cardiff has been targeted in almost a year. The previous incident occurred in November 2025, while Damyan and his parents were away on holiday.

Damyan said police contacted him during that earlier incident after the café’s door was completely smashed. He said the circumstances were “pretty much the same” as the latest break-in and that police did not catch those responsible at the time.

“Last year we had to close for the whole day afterwards but because it happened so early in the morning this time we still managed to clear it up and then open,” he told WalesOnline.

What did the café owner say?

Damyan Bochev described the break-in as frustrating and said it affected the business more deeply because it is independently owned. “For us, when something like that happens it hits us far more than if it happened to somewhere like Starbucks,” he said.

He explained that he received a call from police at about 1am and had to go to the café immediately. On arrival, he found that the window of the front door had been completely shattered.

“It’s just quite annoying,” he said. “You’ve obviously got the financial impact. We’ve got to pay for the door which wasn’t something I was planning to do or in my budget and on top of that we need to get a new till and they are quite pricey.”

What has South Wales Police said?

A South Wales Police spokesperson said that being a victim of burglary can have both financial and emotional consequences for those affected. The force confirmed that the burglary at Coffee Spot was reported during the early hours of November 3.

“A burglary at the Coffee Spot was reported during the early hours of November 3,” the spokesperson said. “The culprits smashed the front door and stole a quantity of cash.”

Police said enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible. They appealed for anyone with information or footage to contact South Wales Police.

How can people help police?

South Wales Police have asked anyone with information about the incident, or any relevant footage, to come forward. The force provided the reference number 2600358982 for people contacting officers about the case.

The appeal is particularly relevant to anyone who may have been in the Barrack Lane area shortly after midnight on November 3, or who may have captured doorbell, mobile-phone, vehicle or business CCTV footage around that time. Police have not released details of suspects or arrests in connection with the investigation.

Are other Cardiff businesses affected?

Damyan Bochev said he believes the issue may be wider than one café, having seen similar incidents affect other independent businesses in Cardiff. WalesOnline reported that Danish bakery Brød in Cardiff Bay was targeted in September, with someone allegedly smashing through its door while looking for money.

El Cabrón Tacos in Pontyclun also reported that the window of its delivery van was smashed over the weekend. In a social-media post quoted by WalesOnline, the business said that every repair affects a small local business beyond the immediate cost of glass.

“As a small local business, every repair like this hits hard — not just the cost of the glass, but the time we’re down and the extra stress it puts on a team that’s already juggling the impossible,” El Cabrón Tacos wrote.

The business added that such actions feel like “a violation of our personal property” in a community that has supported small independent businesses.

What security challenges do small businesses face?

Damyan said it is difficult for small businesses to afford more comprehensive security systems. He said that measures such as extensive CCTV or other forms of protection can be costly for independent operators.

“It’s quite unfortunate because it happens to the small businesses — it’s hard to afford more comprehensive CCTV systems or different types of security,”

he told WalesOnline.

His comments highlight the practical pressure on small businesses after break-ins: repairing damage, replacing equipment, losing trading time and absorbing unexpected costs without the resources available to larger chains.

Background of the development

Coffee Spot Cardiff is an independent, family-run café on Barrack Lane in Cardiff. Damyan Bochev co-owns the business with his parents, and the family has been running it for three years.

The latest incident occurred shortly after midnight on November 3, 2026, and involved damage to the café’s front door and the theft of a small quantity of cash. It followed a similar break-in in November 2025, when the door was also smashed while the family was on holiday.

South Wales Police are investigating the latest burglary and have appealed for information or footage. The force has not confirmed any arrests or identified any suspects publicly.

Prediction: how this may affect local businesses

For Cardiff’s independent café and retail businesses, the incident may reinforce concerns about the cost and availability of effective security. Owners such as Damyan Bochev have said that comprehensive CCTV and other protective measures can be difficult to afford, which may leave smaller premises more exposed to repeat incidents.

Local customers may see more businesses reviewing their overnight cash-handling arrangements, door and window security, insurance cover, and CCTV provision. Coffee Spot Cardiff’s decision to keep only a small amount of change on site illustrates one way businesses may try to limit potential losses during a break-in.

For the wider Cardiff business community, the case may also increase attention on the cumulative impact of vandalism and burglary on small operators. Businesses such as Brød and El Cabrón Tacos have described repair costs, lost time and stress as significant burdens, suggesting that incidents affecting one premises can contribute to broader concern among independent traders.