Steven Saleh was done waiting around. When suspected burglars parked a black van outside the reinforced side door of his Ballard delicatessen early Saturday morning, Saleh tried to block it with his own car — and when the suspects rammed his vehicle and sped off, he chased after them. It was the second time in two months that someone had targeted Saleh’s Delicatessen and Beer Garden, located at 2401 NW 80th St.
Two Break-Ins, One Owner Who Says He’s Had Enough
The first incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 9, when thieves broke into the deli and made off with a safe, tobacco products and roughly $14,000 worth of scratch tickets, according to KIRO 7 News Seattle. Saleh said the sheer size of that initial theft left him expecting the suspects might come back for more. He was right: the second incident, which MyBallard reports happened around 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 7, saw suspects attempt to break in again before fleeing when Saleh confronted them.
Saleh said he identified the vehicle as the same car seen two months earlier, and he believes it was the same individuals returning after the September burglary. The deli owner described himself as angry in the moment and said he had no issue going after the suspects himself. Per the same KIRO 7 report, he chased the fleeing van after it rammed his car during the confrontation.
Surveillance Video Points to a Repeat Visitor
Saleh and his daughter, Iman, shared surveillance video from both incidents online in hopes of helping identify the suspects, and the footage convinced them it was the same individuals using the same van both times, the MyBallard report notes. Saleh told KIRO 7 that neighborhood crime issues extend well beyond his own storefront, describing the problem as widespread across Ballard. Saleh and Iman began comparing notes with other nearby business owners who have reported similar break-ins, though a connection between their case and those other incidents has not been confirmed, per the same account.
One of those nearby businesses, The Crown Cocktail Bar, reported its own break-in roughly three weeks before the KIRO 7 story published, according to the station’s report. That followed an earlier burglary at the bar in August — just six days after it had opened.
A Pattern Stretching Back Years in Ballard
Ballard’s business break-in problem is not new. As of the week of May 4, the neighborhood had recorded 181 property crime burglaries for the year, a 6% increase over the same period the previous year, according to the Seattle Police Dashboard cited by MyBallard. That same report detailed other recent hits in the neighborhood, including a December vandalism incident at Outsider BBQ & Beer Garden that caused an estimated $5,000 in damage, and an April 27 break-in at Mean Sandwich that cost roughly $600 — the same night burglars also hit 5 Guys and Ballard Coffee Co.
Saleh’s own business has a long history with this kind of trouble. A 2015 Seattle Times report found that both of Saleh’s stores were burglarized within 48 hours that July. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, KIRO 7 reported in 2014 that two hooded burglars hit King Smoke Shop around 3:45 a.m. on a Sunday, though police said at the time they knew of no broader trend in cigarette-shop burglaries. A separate King 5 report also found that at least five Ballard businesses said they’d been hit by break-ins or vandalism since the start of this year, with some owners calling for a greater police presence.
Police Response and Next Steps
KIRO 7 reported that it contacted the Seattle Police Department about the burglary investigations, but the department did not respond. Saleh said he plans to keep enhancing security measures at the delicatessen going forward. In the meantime, he and Iman said the community response has been a bright spot — Iman told KIRO 7 that Ballard residents have reached out offering support and asking how they can help.
