Despite Houston’s ongoing economic downturn, one group seems to be doing quite well: the people who rob restaurants.
The Houston Press reports that Houston restaurant robberies are up 27.3% in just the last year alone, and that’s not counting the several establishments that have been burglarized over the past few months. As the Press notes, recently-shuttered restaurant Bramble was broken into by thieves twice last week, resulting in $2,000 in damage.
Restaurateur Morgan Weber’s Revival Market and Eight Row Flint have each been hit multiple times, and Weber believes the robberies were committed by the same perpetrators. Considering both damage to the space and actual property theft, Weber estimates that he’s lost between $10,000 and $15,000 due to the robberies.
Local restaurateurs believe that the thieves aren’t just bumbling opportunists, but a coordinated effort of experienced burglars. “They cut through glass, walls and even wear red lights on their heads and crawl on the floor to not trip any alarms,” BB’s Cafe chief brand officer Maricela Bassler told the Press’s Phaedra Cook. “They even have a guy on stand by to call when they can't get into the safe. They couldn't get into ours and our footage shows them calling in reinforcements. They eventually got in, of course.”