Break-ins at three Modesto restaurants cause thousands of dollars in damage
Teaspoon boba shop in Modesto’s Pelandale Plaza was supposed to be open Christmas Day.
To combat the typically slow season, owner Quynh Nguyen wanted to capture what she anticipated to be a “boost” of business during the holiday week.
However, when store employee Emma Goodwin went to unlock the doors around 10:30 a.m., she noticed the key lock box was gone. She texted the business’ group chat and learned that other employees placed the lock on the door before they left the night prior, and it was suggested that perhaps the wind blew it off.
“She looked around and it wasn’t there,” Nguyen said. “At that time, I was in Vietnam. It was about 1 a.m. in Vietnam.”
Since Nguyen was unable to go to the shop, Goodwin called the landlord — Brian Dole of Vintage Properties — who met her at the store with a spare key. The pair entered the store and noticed no sign of anything suspicious.
“I told her, ‘We don’t know what’s going on with the lock. For safety reasons, let’s just close until we figure out what’s going on,’” Nguyen said. “Maybe half an hour later, two guys opened the door, came in the store and they took the safe and the cash box at the register.”
The store’s security alarm went off after 60 seconds, and two police officers responded. Nguyen said the officers called the security company and said they suspected an employee was responsible, since there were no signs of forced entry.
Nguyen reviewed the cameras, then called the Modesto Police Department to report that she saw two unknown men burglarize the store.
“When we talked to the dispatcher, they said that it looks like those two guys were busy, because several stores in Riverbank reported break-ins as well,” she said.
It has not been confirmed whether the incidents are related.
In addition to the safe and cash box being taken, Teaspoon’s point-of-sale system was damaged. Nguyen said she also had to schedule extra labor to clean the mess and to make up for the slower order -rocessing times due to having to use hand-held devices while she waits for a new POS system to be delivered.
Taking everything into consideration, Nguyen said the business is out around $5,000.
Attempted break-in and a burglary at two other Pelandale Plaza businesses
Nguyen said the owner of Poke Bowl, a few doors down from Teaspoon, contacted her and said a break-in was attempted there, too.
Poke Bowl’s lock also had been cut, but the suspects did not enter the store. A burglary was attempted at Poke Bowl in early November, too.
A visit to Thai Buri confirmed that the restaurant was broken into the morning of Dec. 26. An employee told The Modesto Bee that the restaurant’s cash register, speaker and a bag of coins were taken.
Tougher security measures planned to combat future break-ins
Nguyen said since the November break-in at Poke Bowl, Vintage Properties has increased security at the shopping center, especially at night. She said she plans to request that security makes more rounds before business hours.
“There’s nothing really they can do other than increase security,” Nguyen said. “We’re also going to install more outside cameras.”
In addition, Teaspoon will no longer have a key lock box placed on the door but will give each employee a key to open and close the store.
Suspects have not been identified in any of the attempted or successful burglaries. Nguyen described the suspect vehicle she saw on surveillance cameras as a dark blue Honda CRV.
Anyone with information can contact the Modesto Police Department at 209-552-2470.
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