In the early hours of Monday, several food and beverage businesses in Kansas City fell victim to overnight break-ins. The break-ins affected at least four businesses that were situated only a few miles apart from each other.
Several local businesses in Kansas City, including Brookside Sushi at 408 E. 63rd St., French Custard at 5905 Main St., The Littlest Bake Shop at 5511 Troost Ave., and Oddly Correct at 4141 Troost Ave., recently posted on social media about attempted burglaries. The perpetrators smashed the front glass doors of these establishments in an effort to steal cash and other valuables.
According to Mike Schroeder, co-owner of Oddly Correct, the burglars forcefully broke the shop’s double-paned glass front door and searched for valuable items in a hurry. However, they were only able to steal the shop’s cash drawer which contained nothing but change as it was emptied every evening. The estimated cost for replacing the broken door is around $800 to $1,200.
Alex Wood, one of the co-owners of French Custard, shared that the incident occurred at approximately 1 a.m. Fortunately, the destruction was contained solely to the door, and no further damage was done.
Requests for comment from Littlest Bake Shop and Brookside Sushi owners were left unanswered. Brookside Sushi announced on Instagram that it had to close on Monday due to a break-in, but reassured customers that it would reopen on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, Littlest Bake Shop shared a photo on Instagram showing the damage caused by the break-in, with a shattered glass door.
On Monday, Officer Jacob Becchina, who serves as a spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department, stated that they were unable to confirm whether the crimes were linked or not.
French Custard has unfortunately experienced three break-ins since the opening of their Brookside shop last year. One of the incidents occurred last summer when thieves threw a brick through the front door and attempted to steal from the cash register.
Wood pointed out that their shop never keeps cash on hand, which is a common practice for small businesses. He believes that thieves are targeting small businesses because they assume that there will be less security and more relaxed cash management practices compared to large corporate stores.
According to Schroeder, Oddly Correct experienced its first break-in on Monday, following its relocation from Westport Road and Main Street to Troost in 2021. However, just two weeks prior to this incident, someone stole a picnic table worth $800 that was bolted down to the patio.
Schroeder suggested that the city could potentially provide assistance in addressing this issue, although she was uncertain of the most effective course of action. One idea that she proposed was the possibility of offering grants to businesses to enhance their security measures.
Wood suggested that a great start to address the issue at hand would be to enhance collaboration among city officials, small businesses, and the police. As he pointed out, this is a multi-faceted issue that requires a multi-faceted solution.