It was shaping up to be just like any other Sunday morning for Frankie's Coffee House owner and chef Damian Bateman.
But when he arrived at his cafe to open up one morning earlier this month, he knew something wasn't quite right.
"I smelled gas in the air, and I was like, 'Hmm, what's going on here?' Came down, walked to the front to go to the front door and noticed the gas meter was just basically shaking, and the numbers were going out of control," Mr Bateman said.
Gas was pouring from the pipe attached to an outside wall of the Franco building on Launceston's George Street. It filled a nearby carpark with its pungent odour. Fortunately, nobody had walked past with a lit cigarette.
Thinking quickly, Mr Bateman turned the gas lever off and called his supplier, who promptly sent out a worker.
"We had a bit of a chat about what's happened there, and he just said to me, 'Look, it looks like someone's purposefully come in with wrenches and wrenched it apart, and snapped it'," Mr Bateman said.
Mr Bateman decided to close the cafe for two days while the piping was repaired.
'Disappointing' incident
It does not appear that the person, or persons, behind the damage were after copper. Nothing appeared to be missing.
Mr Bateman only recently took over the popular eatery in early January. Sunday is the cafe's busiest day of the week, with weekend diners flocking to the venue.
"I don't know who did it, I don't know why someone would do something like that," Mr Bateman said.
Mr Bateman had to pay the costs of the damage, and hasn't yet been told the cost of the gas that escaped.
"Not only the fact it's bad for the business and stuff, it's super dangerous for anyone walking down the street," he said.
"I'm really disappointed and saddened by it, and hopefully it hasn't happened to other businesses."
Police investigate
Tasmania Police are treating the incident as suspicious.
Detective Inspector Stuart Greenwood confirmed police are investigating a damage incident at a coffee shop on George Street in Launceston.
"It was reported to police that between about 3.30pm on 14 February and 7am on 15 February, the gas pipes to the store were damaged," Detective Inspector Greenwood said.
Police have not received similar reports.
While Mr Bateman has since installed CCTV cameras to the outside of the building, he is still looking for answers or leads.
He urged anyone who has seen any suspicious behaviour to call police.
"I think Launceston's such a great town," he said.
"(It's just) disappointing and a little bit scary that you leave something and you go home, and then you come back and people have come overnight and tried to wreck it.
"It's a crappy feeling, basically."
If anyone has information in relation to the damage, they are asked to contact Launceston CIB on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000 and quote reference number OR797640.
Information can be provided anonymously.