VANCOUVER -- A Granville Street restaurant’s plan to provide a meal to nurses at St. Paul’s Hospital to thank them for bearing the dangerous brunt of the COVID-19 crisis was nearly derailed by thieves who made off with more than 50 kilograms of chicken and pork.

The Pawn Shop, a taco joint on Granville Street, has been closed for weeks and its staff, along with those who work at a pair of sister restaurants, have been laid off.

The owners decided it would be a nice gesture to put together meal kits for healthcare workers and their own staff who are out of work.

"Our plan was to deliver a hundred burritos to the entire nursing ward up there,” said Peter Raptis, one of the owners. “As well, all of our staff who have been displaced and put out of work, we wanted to make packages and kits to bring to them and their families as well as a number of other industry people who have been displaced."

Raptis’ business partner parked behind the restaurant on Friday and walked around the front to go inside where he spent about 15 minutes before returning to his car.

When he got there he discovered someone had smashed the back window and stolen all of the meat, which the restaurant says was worth about $1200.

“I don’t know what the circumstances were for the person who stole these meats. I’m assuming it can only mean that someone else is very, very desperate as well,” said Raptis. “But in a time when we’re struggling to just maintain and we’re trying to do our best to take care of as many people as possible, to have this happen is gut-wrenching.”

Raptis says the actions of the thieves won’t stop the restaurant from going ahead with the plan to serve meals to healthcare and hospitality workers – and since posting online about the theft a number of suppliers and others in the industry have stepped up to help make sure it still happens.

The plan is to make and deliver the meals on Tuesday next week.

Raptis says the restaurant will also re-open for takeout tacos on Tuesdays so some of the staff can return to work part-time.