The suburb of Footscray has been greeted with an array of new bars, restaurants, cafes and apartment blocks over the past couple of years, and it seems that some of the locals aren’t happy about it.
Recently, a number of locations have reported vandalism of buildings and establishments that are clearly indicating a revolt against the trending hipster scene, and the gentrification of their beloved suburb. Burger shop 8Bit is the latest victim to the vandalism, with their café in complete wreckage after the attack.
Owner of 8Bit, Shayne McCallum explained he was tagged in a photo on Instagram of outside his Footscray shop, with the words “F— off hipster scum” scrawled in graffiti over the window. Later on in the day, he received an email from another local who notified him that the entirety of the shop’s windows had now been smashed.
The well-known Melbourne restaurant is one of the many new locations aimed at gentrifying the urban suburb, and, unfortunately, some locals are not interested in letting them stay.
Another location, Rudimentary Cafe, a young café on Leeds Street, was, just days before, victim to a rather unprecedented attack; a large bag of rotting meat being hurled at the establishment. Staff claimed the stench wasn’t removed for days. Littlefoot Bar and Up in Smoke also reported anti-gentrification/ anti-hipster vandalism after their opening, and display suites for new apartment developments had had spray painted on their walls: “F— off yuppies”.
The earlier vandalism was assumed, by some of the shop owners, to simply be bored kids in the city, but with the surge in vandalism recently, it’s clear that this might be a regular occurrence, and one to be worried about.
While the gentrification and welcoming of new bars and shops only has intentions to keep Footscray alive and thriving, many are still adamant about keeping things old fashioned. The vandalism comes as a clear warning to “yuppies” and “hipsters” alike to back off, and the future of the suburb is no certainty.