In the early hours of Monday morning, a spate of burglaries struck the Decatur area, leaving nine local businesses coping with shattered windows and breached cash registers. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, it is believed that the crimes were carried out by a group of three individuals wearing ski masks and driving a black sedan. The perpetrators swiftly moved through businesses, searching for cash, with security camera footage from one location capturing their brief yet damaging intrusion.
With a rash of break-ins on the 600 block of East Lake Drive, the Decatur Police Department found several businesses that had suffered at thieves' hands. Targeted establishments stretched across different streets, including Mead Road, West College Avenue, and East College Avenue, encapsulating local favorites like Ford's BBQ and Paolino's Italian Restaurant. Despite the comprehensive effort to pull cash from their registers, the thieves often left empty-handed, encountering businesses like Moxie Burger on DeKalb Avenue, which operates as cashless. "Someone had told us that Paolino’s Italian had gotten broken into as well as several other businesses," Paul Newman, owner of Paolino’s Italian Restaurant, told FOX 5.
The array of burglarized businesses, which WSB-TV reports are located within a few miles of each other, include establishments such as San Fran Coffee, Wahoo Wine and Provisions, Wahoo Grill, Oakhurst Coin Laundry, Mojo Pizza, Mezcalito’s Cantina, Los Ninos Taqueria, Wildheart Salon, and Paolino Italian Restaurant. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incidents to contact Sgt. Mark Hensel via email or by phone at 678-553-6687. Additionally, Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta is open to anonymous tips at 404-577-8477.
The financial repercussions for those businesses hit are notable, with damages to storefronts being costly and the timing unfortunate. Moxie Burger's General Manager Andrew Lee conveyed to FOX 5 Atlanta that, following a citywide water outage affecting businesses, and the burglaries have dealt another blow in an already tough month. Lee said, "Six days of not having any clean potable water…that really affected business Friday and Saturday…at least $10,000 and that’s on the lower end," noting the significant blow to the restaurant's recovery efforts. As the investigations continue, local businesses hope community support will aid them in bouncing back.
