Philadelphia Business Owners Seeing Uptick In Brazen Thefts
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There's been an uptick in brazen thefts, leaving businesses across the city on edge. It's forcing some owners to make the decision to close.
The restaurant owner CBS3 spoke with says this isn't the first time he was burglarized. On top of that, he has dealt with vandalism, trash and surviving COVID as a business owner. He's doing his best to move forward.
You can hear bottles clinking together. Surveillance video shows burglars ripping through cabinets and swiping alcohol from the shelves of a Chinatown restaurant.
"We had a trash can behind the bar and that was the perfect little basket for them to put al the alcohol that was on the shelves into," said Kevin Wong, owner of Far East Descendant.
Wong says the men used electrical wires to hoist themselves up the side of the building to the rooftop.
"Scaled over and jumped over and kicked the door in," Wong said.
Wong says he just opened six months ago. It took him over six years to create and design the restaurant, handmaking everything inside himself. He says seeing this is upsetting.
"As soon as we put it out on social media that we got hit we did get a lot of support from other business owners. They are like 'hey, it happened to me too,'" Wong said.
Wong isn't alone. A 7-Eleven was also hit on Wednesday in Glenside.
"The crimes are growing more and more now. Now, they are coming in with big bags and filling up with the merchandise and police cannot do anything to them," an owner said.
The president of the Delaware Valley Franchise Owners Association says more than a dozen convenience stores have shut down because of crime and shoplifting in the past years and it's getting worse.
"It's very hard to run a business these days," an owner said. "The owners are very scared and the employees are scared. Nobody wants to work in a 7-Eleven."
Wong is remaining positive and looking on the bright side in the midst of the burglary.
"People should still know that even though there is so much crime in the city, there is a lot is good people here," Wong said.
Wong upgraded his alarm system right after the burglary.
