Home Australia Felix runs a cafe and is loved by everyone in the community… now he’s been forced to shut down after a callous act from a stranger

Felix runs a cafe and is loved by everyone in the community… now he’s been forced to shut down after a callous act from a stranger

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Felix runs a cafe and is loved by everyone in the community... now he's been forced to shut down after a callous act from a stranger

This is the terrifying moment a beloved Australian cafe owner was brutally attacked for confronting a stranger who was causing trouble.

Felix Gratano, 40, was working on his coffee machine at Lakeside Café in Gosford, on the New South Wales Central Coast, about 10am on Friday when a man entered the business from a nearby community center that serves to homeless people.

Gratano told Daily Mail Australia the venue was furious that the service was closed at the time.

“Obviously, he had the shit, and he walked by, just verbally abusing me while I was in the front of the store with my wife,” he said.

Gratano said the man had acted aggressively on numerous occasions recently, including last week when he threw a “wet floor” sign at their cafe and swore at them.

Gratano had let the previous incidents go but, fed up with the man’s bad behavior, he decided it was time to take a stand for himself, his partner and his business.

“I just said, ‘mate, you know, there’s no reason to talk to us like this, if you can refrain.’ In the future, you mind your business, I’ll mind mine.

“I just thought, if I don’t say something, this will never stop.”

Felix Gratano, 40, is not comfortable reopening his cafe after a vile alleged assault in Gosford last week.

The 40-year-old businessman was mistreated after refusing to take revenge on the alleged attacker

The 40-year-old businessman was mistreated after refusing to take revenge on the alleged attacker

“I felt really good about it, but it sparked something in him.

Then he starts saying, “You’ve been calling me that and calling me that, you’ve been calling me a faggot,” when we haven’t. Clearly he has problems.

Gratano alleged that the local charged at him, kicking an A-shaped store sign and yelling.

The business owner claimed that the man yelled at him: ‘I’m going to punch you.’

Gratano claims the man threw a hard hook at him and punched him in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground.

“It wasn’t that bad in the sense that I was like, ‘Okay, I can take these hits, it’s okay,'” Gratano said.

A neighboring storefront was damaged in the hubbub of the alleged attack before the alleged attacker continued punching the business owner.

A neighboring storefront was damaged in the hubbub of the alleged attack before the alleged attacker continued punching the business owner.

Mia, 44, Gratano’s crafty wife, began recording the incident.

The store owner decided not to retaliate, saying he didn’t know how the man would react or if it would hurt him too much.

“I just tried to protect myself as much as possible,” Gratano said.

But then the alleged criminal turned against Mrs. Gratano when he saw her recording.

“He tried to go for it, so I got in the way, and then I grabbed him and pulled him toward me,” Gratano said.

“He kept coming at me, which was good, and we went through a glass window that was next to me.”

Gratano alleged that the man sat on his chest and continued hitting him.

He said he simply protected his face until a growing crowd of people scared the alleged offender and he fled.

Police found the man a few minutes later at a unit in Showground Road, Gosford.

There, however, the alleged disturbance continued and police officers were forced to use pepper spray to control it.

The alleged offender, 40, was later charged with a litany of offenses including charges relating to stalking and intimidation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and destruction or damage to property.

Police also charged him with impeding or resisting a police officer in the execution of his duty and assaulting a police officer without causing actual bodily harm.

He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday, January 11, 2025, where he was formally refused bail to appear at Gosford Local Court on Thursday.

The community has expressed solidarity with small cafe owners who are taking a week off work after the alleged attack.

The community has expressed solidarity with small cafe owners who are taking a week off work after the alleged attack.

Gratano said he couldn’t thank the police enough and that they did their job “very, very well.”

He said he closed his coffee shop for the week while he recovers.

He opened the business on Monday, but found the work too physically and mentally exhausting after the beating.

He said he could still extend the closure depending on the outcome of the alleged attacker’s bail hearing on Thursday.

‘We still don’t feel safe. “If he left, we wouldn’t reopen our café,” Gratano said.

On Tuesday, the cafe left a notice on the community’s Facebook page, saying they appreciated the additional support from customers on Monday.

‘However, the most important factor is the safety of Felix, Mia and our staff. Feeling safe at work is something we never want to leave aside, and this has not been our case,’ it reads.

Many locals wrote messages of support to the owner.

‘Your safety is paramount. I miss you guys,’ one man said.

Others offered whatever help they could give.

TO GoFundMe has been created to support the couple and their business while they cannot open their doors.

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