Burglars appear to be increasingly turning their sights on Sacramento restaurants
SACRAMENTO – Another Sacramento restaurant owner has been left picking up the pieces after they were broken into.
Popular brunch spot Bacon & Butter was broken into Wednesday night.
Although nothing was taken, their sense of security has been stolen.
This is the third time these owners have had to deal with a break-in in just the past few months.
Since then, they installed a plexiglass window. You could see the marks where the thieves tried to break through but were unsuccessful.
That's when the suspects decided to smash the window right next to it.
"It's definitely a community issue, and that's why it's so hard to tackle," said Amber Michel, co-owner of both Bacon & Butter and Green Room.
Michel co-owns the restaurants with her brother. After being in business for more than 10 years, they've seen their fair share of thefts.
"What else can you do?" Michel said.
But it's nothing like they've experienced over the past three months.
"It is very troubling because it's just getting worse," Michel said.
Three break-ins since February. One, the thieves stole an entire safe from Green Room. The latest one Wednesday night saw the thieves break through the window.
It's the same smash-and-grab style of robbery seen at other restaurants within the past few weeks.
"More and more people who are acquaintances and other restaurant owners, they're having the same experience. It's not isolated just to us," Michel said.
But the loss of money, and damages, is only half the hurt. The other is dealing with insurance premiums, which often go up following a reported break-in.
So Michel is hesitant to do that.
"Even if you report an incident and don't take a claim, you get a ding on your report and it stays on there for many years," Michel said. "It's a real gut punch to have [a] response like that."
Sacramento police said they recognize the problem and will be increasing patrols along the Broadway corridor, and a team will be working closely with businesses in the area to try and develop strategies to combat break-ins.
And while the window will soon be fixed, and the broken glass taken out to the trash, the scar it leaves behind is a constant worry.
"It's just a rotten feeling to be worried to go to sleep," Michel said.
Several glass repair companies we asked said they respond to these sorts of break-in repairs at least a few times a week.
For Michel, she plans to replace this other window with plexiglass. She also is considering putting garage doors to cover the building, but she's frustrated that it's come to that.
