A Milwaukee convenience store on West National Avenue was burglarized for the third time in less than two months early Sunday, Aug. 16, when two people kicked through the front door around 4:30 a.m. and used a recycling bin to haul away merchandise before fleeing minutes ahead of police. The store, 38th Street Mart and Silver City Smoke Shop, is owned by Jessica Jimenez, who watched the break-in unfold on her live surveillance feed and called police immediately, but officers arrived only minutes after the suspects had already left.
According to TMJ4 News, Milwaukee police reported that burglars made off with roughly $2,500 worth of merchandise in the Aug. 16 incident, despite camera-system upgrades Jimenez had already invested in and her immediate notification to police. Police are now seeking unknown suspects in connection with that burglary and are asking the public for information.
This was not an isolated incident. Milwaukee police reported the first break-in at the store happened July 10, when two suspects took money and merchandise, and a second burglary followed July 24, when an unknown suspect took additional merchandise, per the same account. Jimenez told the station she has not been able to restock the store since because she cannot afford to.
A Business Owner Feeling Squeezed From Every Direction
Jimenez considers the store an important part of the neighborhood and said she is spending more money on security even as the break-ins continue to drain her inventory and cash flow. She is urging neighbors and other nearby businesses to stay alert, according to the station's report, as the losses compound for a small, family-run operation already stretched thin.
Making matters worse, Jimenez's shop sits in the middle of ongoing construction along National Avenue, which she says has reduced vehicle and pedestrian traffic past her storefront and turned the block into what she calls a dead zone once the sun goes down. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation confirms the 2.6-mile reconstruction of West National Avenue between South 39th and South 1st Streets is a three-year, $37.8 million project, with the first phase running from South 39th to South 27th Street — the exact stretch where 38th Street Mart operates — from April through December of this year.
Construction Has Cut Traffic and Dimmed the Corridor
That first phase has reduced National Avenue to a single one-way traffic lane, detoured Milwaukee County Transit System Route 18 onto Greenfield Avenue, and severely restricted on-street parking, according to the state transportation department. A $25 million federal grant secured in January 2025 will eventually fund upgraded street lighting, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and raised crosswalks along the corridor, as reported by Urban Milwaukee — but those permanent lighting improvements are still to come, leaving temporary gaps in visibility during the current construction phase.
Following the second break-in in July, CBS 58 reported that burglars had emptied the store's lottery display and stolen large quantities of food, cleaning products, and personal hygiene items, prompting the family to launch community fundraising efforts to stay afloat. 38th Street Mart sits in Milwaukee's Silver City neighborhood, a commercial district along West National Avenue between South 32nd and South 39th Streets that is supported by the neighborhood development organization VIA CDC, according to the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development.
Part of a Broader Pattern Along the Corridor
This is not the first violent or criminal incident to hit the stretch of National Avenue this year. On May 29, a robbery escalated into a shooting near 34th Street and West National Avenue — four blocks east of 38th Street Mart — leaving a 38-year-old man hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Hoodline previously reported. The Silver City commercial strip falls under the jurisdiction of Milwaukee Police Department District 2, which is headquartered on West Lincoln Avenue and serves 7.2 square miles across the city's near south side, per the City of Milwaukee.
Citywide, property crime in Milwaukee has been recorded at a rate of approximately 27.93 incidents per 1,000 residents in recent data compiled for 2025 and 2026, according to Guardian Protection, offering broader context for the kind of losses small retailers like Jimenez's are absorbing. Under Wisconsin Statute § 943.10, entering a commercial building without consent and with intent to steal constitutes burglary, a Class F felony punishable by up to 12.5 years in prison and fines up to $25,000, while the charge can be upgraded to a Class E felony carrying up to 15 years and $50,000 in fines if a perpetrator is found to have been armed with a dangerous weapon or used explosives inside the premises, per the Wisconsin State Legislature.
Anyone with information about the Aug. 16 burglary is asked to contact Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7222. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers, which accepts calls, or through the P3 Tips app.
