Houston Restaurateur Criticizes Mayor Sylvester Turner After Rash of Restaurant Robberies

In a lengthy screed posted to Facebook on Thursday, Houston bar mogul Bobby Heugel slammed Mayor Sylvester Turner over a rash of restaurant robberies after his Heights bar Better Luck Tomorrow was hit by thieves.

According to Heugel, Better Luck Tomorrow was robbed on Wednesday night, and he claims this isn’t the door-smashing, cash-grabbing thieves’ first rodeo. “These guys are pros — they even disabled our alarm system this time, giving them enough time to cut a hole in our safe,” Heugel wrote. “Most of my colleagues all know these fellas cause they’ve robbed what I would guess is over 100 great restaurants/bars inside the loop.”

Between the physical damage to the space and cash stolen, Heugel estimates that the robbery cost Better Luck Tomorrow about $8,000. He also noted the rise in car burglaries in Montrose and other surrounding neighborhoods in recent months, which has apparently forced Heugel to hire private security officers to patrol parking lots at his establishments, to the tune of $40,000 a year. That’s a pretty hefty chunk of change, even considering that Heugel operates several of the city’s most popular and critically acclaimed restaurants.

Heugel’s criticism of Turner comes about a week and a half after Turner failed to secure a majority of votes in the first mayoral election, held on November 5. He’s set to face challenger Tony Buzbee, a Houston attorney whom Heugel describes as a “guy once best-known for parking a tank in his front yard,” in an election on December 14.