Indian-origin couple spent over $100,000 to open cafe in Australia; an arson attack has them crodwfunding for repairs

Ashish Sharma and Manali Purohit had invested almost all of their life savings into opening their dream vegan cafe in Melbourne. But after just three months of operating, they lost their entire space to an arson attack by tobacconists, as per a report by The Australia Today.On the morning of October 12, the cafe was severely damaged in a suspected arson attack that gutted the tobacco shop next door, which had opened in recent weeks. The day after the firebombing, about $5,000 worth of technology and equipment was stolen from the burnt-out cafe. When the couple entered the cafe after the robbery, Sharma said it felt like their "dream had been ripped away." “It felt like a warzone,” he said. “The roof had melted off – soot everywhere.”It was in July 2026 that the couple's cafe 'And Bodega' opened in Melbourne's Fitzroy North. The name was a nod to the neighbourhood convenience stores synonymous with New York. They had spent the past five months scouring Facebook Marketplace for second-hand furniture, layered coats of paint on walls and installed plumbing to fit out their dream. “We put in basically all our life savings. We did a lot of it DIY,” said co-owner Sharma to The Guardian. P...