A Hobart burger shop owner says he’s fed up with drunken revellers using the front of his business as a toilet every weekend, with security cameras capturing dozens of incidents in recent weekends alone.
Leo Miller, owner of Billy’s Burgers and Bar, said footage from just one weekend showed four men urinating on fences and six women urinating on either his doorstep or around the tables out the front of his shop.
“They don’t seem to think the cameras work or something,” Miller told Pulse.
“The technology’s pretty good these days.”
Miller said the area’s proximity to a construction site and poor lighting made it a target for people leaving nearby clubs or drinking on the street late at night.
“I guess they just think they can get away with it and they don’t really care,” he said.
Beyond the public urination, Miller said people were also regularly using drugs outside the shop, leaving behind small bags of substances that his staff find on Sunday mornings.
“There’s usually someone snorting off the tables and leaving little baggies you find blowing around,” he said.
One man also kicked in a window at the shop, though Miller said the man later called to apologise and offered to cover the insurance excess.
“It’s just that sort of stupid, mindless behaviour and lack of concern for other people, other people’s property and just their own actions,” Miller said.
Staff have been left to clean up the mess the morning after with hot water, disinfectant and mops before customers arrive.
“It’s gross, it smells, it’s obviously no good,” Miller said.
“It’s not the ideal way to welcome your customers.”
The business is set to close within a week, marking the end of an era as the Elizabeth Street Pier undergoes a multimillion-dollar transformation.
The closure comes as part of a major redevelopment of the entire precinct, which will see the venue replaced by a new operator while Miller focuses on creating a brand new restaurant next door.
He said the decision to post security footage publicly was partly driven by the shop’s imminent closure.
“Previously we’ve probably held off in posting footage because you don’t want reprisal, but given that we’re only got a little while to go, I just thought, ‘Bugger it, we’ll post some,'” he said.
Miller had a simple message for the late-night troublemakers.
“There are cameras everywhere these days,” he said.
“We can see you.”
