Two Food Fare employees injured in workplace assault, third recovering, owner says – Winnipeg Free Press

Three Food Fare workers who suffered workplace violence have been released from hospital as police continue to search for suspects in an attack at the West End store, which has seen several high-profile, violent incidents involving officers.

Co-owner Münter Zeid said Free press Employees who were struck by brass knuckles Tuesday at Food Fare at Portage Avenue and Burnell Street recovered Friday.

“They are recovering well,” he said. “A couple are back at work (and) one should be back next week. We gave him extra time off. They are doing well.”

A 17-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday and charged with assault and possession of a weapon. At the time, police said more arrests were expected.

A spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Police Service said no further arrests had been made as of Friday.

The Manitoba Chiefs Assembly announced Tuesday night that it would hold a press conference Wednesday morning with co-owners Munter and Tariq Zeid and family member Wajih Zeid to discuss the incident, but it was canceled without comment two hours earlier. was scheduled to begin.

Zeid said on Friday that it had not been canceled, but had been delayed to allow all parties involved to get more information about the incident.

“We have to wait until all the facts are established, we will find out more information, and then we will make a statement, hold another press conference or not,” he said. “This time it has been delayed to give everyone time to have a proper discussion, get the facts and move forward in a positive direction.”

On April 28, security camera footage of an altercation between a store supervisor and a local woman prompted the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to announce it was cutting ties with the grocery store, but said a reconciliation would be possible if management apologized.

Security video a Free press the reporter showed the employee pulling the woman's bag. The woman apparently swung her fist at the employee before the employee punched her in the face.

In a statement at a press conference Tuesday, AMC said it is “working closely with the owners of Food Fare, who sincerely apologize for a previous incident that injured a female security guard at their store,” and that ownership has pledged to do so. establishing policies to combat shoplifting and cultural sensitivity training for employees.

AMC offers food and grocery vouchers to customers through federal government programs.

Zeid said conversations with AMC are ongoing and the public has not been able to get the full story of the April 28 incident through news or social media, but did not elaborate further.

“It is wrong to point fingers because the facts were not stated correctly the first time or a few weeks ago. This has led to ongoing problems,” he said.

“But then again, once you know the true story of everybody, I think things will sort themselves out.”

West End Food Fare has been the site of several theft incidents and allegations. In 2022, Zeid said Free press the meat thief put a gun on his two sticks.

In a 2019 media interview, Zeid said he placed baseball bats around the store for employees to use if a theft was reported.

Zeid said Friday that he had no plans to install additional security at his stores and would focus on his grocery operations.

“I'm not a social worker, I'm not a psychiatrist, I can answer questions about why people do what they do or how they think. I am a grocer — meat and potatoes. “This is my program, meat and potatoes, this is my skill,” he said.

“I will not allow anyone to disrupt my business and harm my employees, my customers, my family and my neighborhood. I won't let him.”

Some local grocers say they have beefed up security to reduce theft.

At Dino's Grocery Mart, manager Rajan Varma said hiring a security guard in December was an expensive investment, but since then thefts have dropped by about 75 percent.

Until December, there was at least one attempted robbery every day, he said.

“We had to hire a security guard because the police couldn't keep up,” he said.

Elizabeth Ogidam has owned Akin's International Foods on Sargent for 20 years. He said there was no point in paying for a security guard, and the police rarely came to his store when called.

“It's okay. “I put cameras in the back, in front, outside, and when they come in, you get ready,” he said. “I've found my camera outside 10 times, (thieves) take it and throw it away.”

Ogidam said he was aiming to protect himself from violence during the shoplifting incident, but declined to elaborate.

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Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abbas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

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