St. Paul restaurant suffers 4th break-in during 1st year of business: "It's too exhausting"
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Lost Fox in St. Paul's Lowertown district has endured four break-ins since opening a year ago. The latest happened early Friday morning, resulting in several thousand dollars' worth of damage, the owner says.
The restaurant serves more than food, cocktails and coffee. It also serves the community, which has shown up in a big way since they shared their latest break-in on social media.
"It's like how many times can you continue to do this before like something has to change?" owner Annie Rose said.
Early Friday morning, thieves shattered two windows, stole some quarters and other items nearby.
"We don't have anything to take, you know, so it's fruitless on their point. They're not getting anything, they're just causing a ton of damage," she said.
Rose is now looking into what changes she can make to ensure it doesn't happen again. She says it's a tiring process.
"We can put film on our glass, OK we can do that. We can add extra security, we can do that. Maybe we need to put a security guard down here," she said. "Eventually, it's too exhausting."
Also overnight Friday, thieves broke into Urban Wok next door, smashing the glass door and taking a couple iPads and beer. Across the street is Union Depot, where people experiencing homelessness often gather.
"It's kind of conflicting because obviously you know I'm worried about my own personal safety, but these people, you know, need help," Urban Wok employee M.J. LaMotte said.
It's unclear who was involved in the break-ins, but LaMotte hopes something is done.
"I'd like to see some more solutions for the unhoused and addicted community around here because I think that would actually produce some real results," LaMotte said.
Rose wants to be part of the change, too. Despite the hurdles, she says Lost Fox isn't going anywhere.
"Just the outpouring of love and support of people coming in to like show us that they care that we're here makes us feel like that we're actually succeeding in what we set out to do, and why would we change that," Rose said.
Lost Fox said they are still reviewing surveillance video and working with the St. Paul Police Department to identify those responsible for the break in.
