VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A grill used by Footer's Sport Pub for more than twenty years was taken from behind the establishment over the weekend.
"A lot of people have cooked on that grill, a lot of good people, some of the people aren't here anymore, so every time we fire that grill up there's memories and history to that grille," says Bruce Barefoot, president of Two Feet Inc. and owner of the grill. "There's no reason for somebody to take it other than pure meanness as far as I'm concerned."
Barefoot believes it was taken sometime between Friday afternoon and 1:00 AM on Saturday morning. He realized it was gone minutes before leaving for their biggest event of the year, an Independence Day party at Mount Trashmore.
Because of the size and weight of the grill, he believes more than one person was involved. He says he filed a police report with Virginia Beach Police, but it has been his family, customers, and friends who have taken action since.
"People are angry about it," says Barefoot. "I've got my friends calling me from all over the place, friends on vacation down in Florida, asking me what's going on with the grille."
Barefoot says he cooks between 150 to 200 pounds of barbeque a week on the grill. With a summer completely booked for events, he says he can only wait a few days before buying a new one.
"They know what that grill means," he says. "It's not going to stop us, it's going to slow us down a little bit, but we will be relentless in finding this grille."
Anyone with information is asked to call Footer's Sports Pub at (757)-467-6427. Pope's Pool Service will be offering a $200 reward for anyone who can return the grill to its home.
