SPOKANE, Washington — A restaurant in the area of Kendall Yards had its bathroom ransacked by what the restaurant’s owner is saying was a homeless man.
Thursday night, Josh Wade, the owner of Nectar Catering and Events, was hosting an event at the restaurant. He eventually left the event in the hands of his trusted employees.
Not long after he left, an employee texted Wade a photo of the restaurant’s bathroom. It was destroyed.
During the event, Wade said a homeless man entered the restaurant’s restroom. He locked himself in the bathroom, trashed it and did not leave until Spokane Police arrived.
Wade said he was able to clean up the damage without any major costs. But the cost he’s most concerned about is the safety of his employees and customers.
Wade has been a business owner in Spokane for almost a decade, so he’s seen a lot. But he said this was his breaking point.
Wade posted the photo of his destroyed restroom on Facebook, which quickly went viral. He received a comment from a member of “Empower Spokane,” a group that's already having conversations about finding the best approach to addressing homelessness in Spokane.
The group sent KREM 2 a statement saying "the incident at Nectar is a perfect example of the type of destructive behavior the current approach is perpetuating." It goes on to say the group hopes to promote true compassion, which highlights empowering, rather than enabling.