SF Castro District restaurant deals with 4th break-in of the year
A restaurant owner in the Castro District of San Francisco who has been dealing with repeated break-ins, is wanting the cycle of crime targeting his business to stop.
It's a feeling that Kevin Lieu, owner of GAI Chicken and Rice, has unfortunately gotten used to.
"You just know something's wrong when you get a phone call at 3:30 in the morning. So, you know your heart's racing, something's wrong at the restaurant," Lieu told CBS News Bay Area.
Surveillance video shows an unidentified man breaking into the Singaporean restaurant along 16th and Sanchez early Wednesday morning. There was shattered glass everywhere from the broken window.
"Such a horrible feeling to go through, constantly," Lieu said.
"Thankfully, nothing was stolen because we've been so good at not keeping any cash here at the restaurant anymore because it's been happening to often," he added.
This now marks the fourth time his family restaurant has been broken into this year.
According to the San Francisco Police Department's crime dashboard, burglaries are down almost 14% citywide this year compared to last year. However, they are up 15% year over year in the district that includes the Castro neighborhood.
Reported break-ins like this have made crime and public safety a major issue in the upcoming mayoral election.
"I've lived in San Francisco for 30 years. So, I've seen the ups and downs and we're going through a very difficult time right now," Jeanne, a regular customer, told CBS News Bay Area. "It's heartbreaking to see something like this. I mean this is one of our favorite go-to restaurants."
Lieu and his family are now considering putting up scissor gates to try to prevent something like this from happening again.
Currently, plastic covers the glassless window. Lieu's doors are still open, as he and his family are picking up the pieces and moving forward.
"When these things kind of happen to us, it takes the passion out of how do we be innovative? Like what's next on the menu? It's more like, how to file insurance claim?" Lieu said.
"We're still going to fight to make sure that we can bring that SF that we've known to love back to the city," he added.
San Francisco Police have not identified the suspect as of Thursday morning. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411.