Houston restaurant owners are grappling with a surge in burglaries, which has seen some locations hit multiple times over the past year. Over in Houston's bustling food scene, nearly 850 restaurant burglaries were reported in 2024, according to data from the Houston Police Department. GR8 Plate Hospitality CEO Paul Miller, who oversees a chain of 10 eateries, recently experienced an attempted burglary at Vine Memorial, a wine bar off the Katy Freeway. A surveillance video captured two individuals dressed in black attempting to enter through a side window, though they were deterred by an alarm and a set of blinds, as reported by KHOU 11 News.
These incidents have led to substantial financial impacts for the business owners. Paul Miller spoke about the costliness of the attempted break-ins, one of which left him with a hefty $3,000 bill to replace a shattered window. He remarked to FOX 26 Houston, "They popped the glass. This is a very heavy window so the whole thing falls. You can see them step back." Despite the perception that restaurants may hold large amounts of cash, Miller points out that due to credit card payments, there's "very little cash, if any."
The emotional toll on the proprietors is evident as well. Mechelle Tran, co-owner of Riel Restaurant in Montrose, conveys a sense of frustration over the lack of consequences for the recurring crimes. "We go through different emotions where you're angry, because no one's really being held responsible," Tran disclosed in a statement obtained by FOX 26 Houston. Her establishment was broken into early Tuesday morning, marking yet another incident in a string of break-ins plaguing the city's eateries.
Another victim of the burglary epidemic is Numan Ali, owner of Daiquiri Island, located within a complex at 12647 Tomball Parkway that has been hit by what appears to be the same perpetrators. Ali lamented to FOX 26 Houston, "All the windows were broken, this complex, all of them, mine was broken as well." Thieves took his cash register and broke into his safe, reinforcing the tangible damages restaurateurs are facing. Amidst these challenges, both Miller and Tran are urging Houstonians to be vigilant and are advocating for harsher penalties to serve as a deterrent against future break-ins.
