Restaurants in downtown Walnut Creek, California, have been targeted in a recent flurry of burglaries that left the owners shocked. The incidents happened between July 16 and 24 and on Aug. 7.
The establishments included were De Afghanan Kabob House, Melos Italian Table, Ramen Hiroshi, Lita, Vinous Reverie Wine Merchant, and Tellus Coffee.
The owners spoke with The Epoch Times about their experiences. The San Francisco Creamery also shared their experience with “dine and dashers.”
Gaetano Piccolo, owner of Melos Italian Table in downtown Walnut Creek, Calif., on Aug. 1, 2023. Courtesy of Gaetano Piccolo
Gaetano Piccolo, owner of the restaurant Melos Italian Table, said, “People are saying that you have to be a little bit more careful now, that Walnut Creek was a much safer place to be, but now there’s a little bit more of criminal activity going on and you have to be a little bit more careful about your stuff.”
He said that Melos Italian Table was under construction at the time of the burglary and will be opening in mid-September.
He was alerted to the incident by a phone call from his alarm company waking him up around 4 a.m.
“You don’t know what’s happening, how much damage it’s going to be, so you’re kind of upset,” he said.
He later found out that the burglars smashed open the lock box, went into the restaurant using the key, and stole his first shipment of alcohol for his new restaurant and bar.
“We were lucky; they only took about $1000 worth of goods,” he said.
Due to the incident, he decided to take out the lock box, change all the locks, add more deadbolts, increase his security cameras, and update the security of the doors.
Hiroshi Tun, owner of the restaurant Ramen Hiroshi. Courtesy of Hiroshi Tun
Hiroshi Tun, owner of Ramen Hiroshi, said, “Walnut Creek is not safe anymore.”
His restaurant camera showed a break-in on July 19 at 2:40 a.m.
Their pest control company called the police when they saw that the lock box at the entrance was broken, the safety deposit box with cash in it was stolen, and their iPad and two Bluetooth speakers were gone. The loss that night was valued at approximately $3,500.
He mentioned how proud he was that the Walnut Creek police came so quickly when they were called for help.
His wife and the restaurant co-owner, Angela Yanase, said: “We’ve been here eight years, and this is the first time this has happened. You would not expect this from this neighborhood. Our business is barely surviving after the pandemic.”
The night of the burglary was a turning point for them. They also operate a restaurant in San Francisco and are aware of all the crime that happens in the city but didn’t think it would come to Walnut Creek.
After the incident, they decided to make changes to better secure the restaurant. They take all cash home every night, they will not use the safety deposit box anymore, and they no longer have a lock box.
Ms. Yanase said: “It’s very frustrating. There should be harsher punishments for people who do this. How about the small business owners who are working hard to contribute to the economy and take care of their families? Like, what are they left with? It’s really frustrating and sad.”
She thinks hardworking people should be supported more and prioritized.
“Everyone ends up paying in one way or another,” she said.
Wais Omar, owner of De Afghanan Kabob House in downtown Walnut Creek, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2023. Helen Billings/The Epoch Times
Wais Omar, owner of De Afghanan Kabob House, said, “When I tell my friends or family, nobody believes me, because nobody expects something to happen in Walnut Creek.”
A burglar got into his restaurant using the same method that was used on a few of the other restaurants; namely, breaking open the lock box at the entrance to get the key.
“Especially this year, a lot of crazy things are going on—robbing stores in the daytime, 3:00 p.m., not a.m., in front of the security and in front of the people, and it’s scary; it’s sad,” Mr. Omar said. “I think they should have a strong punishment so they don’t do it again. Now I had to get an alarm because, to be honest, right now, the way things are, the economy is not good; businesses are not good. I couldn’t afford to pay $60–$70, but I have no choice now.”
He thinks that no matter where you live now, these things are happening and it’s getting worse and worse. He has to pay out of pocket for the iPhone and all the wine that was stolen totaling $2,700 in value.
Next door to De Afghanan Kabob House is the San Francisco Creamery. Terry Wong, the owner, said that his restaurant did not get broken into that night, but he does get customers who “dine and dash” pretty frequently.
He said that since the COVID-19 pandemic he’s noticed an uptick in homelessness in Walnut Creek.
He told The Epoch Times: “It used to be you see the same characters over and over, and now it’s like every other day there’s a new one in town, and some of these guys are not the most mentally stable. The problem is, we are the ones that have to deal with it. A lot of the times they’ll go into businesses and order food and not pay for it.”
Just three weeks ago (approximately July 16) was the last time he experienced a dine and dash at his restaurant. He said a man walked in and had a couple of new baseball bats with him, and the clothes he was wearing still had the security tag on.
Mr. Wong said it seemed like he had just shoplifted and had come into his restaurant to hide out, because he ordered a banana split and sat there for an hour to eat it. After he was finished, the dine and dasher refused to pay, saying they had “ruined his life.”
“Sometimes they do eat like $40–$50 worth of stuff,” Mr. Wong said. “They’ll order food, then dessert. They want the full course.”
He said that if customers refuse to pay and walk out, he has his employees call the police.
Mr. Wong has learned many things while operating his restaurant through the years. He shared that you always need to be aware, get security cameras, and don’t position things like tip jars or alcohol by the door.
Igor Ivanov, owner of Vinous Reverie Wine Merchant in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2023. Helen Billings/The Epoch Times
Vinous Reverie, a wine retail store with sample tastings, was also broken into. Igor Ivanov, the owner, has been there for 5 years. The incident happened on July 18 at 2 a.m.
The burglar broke the glass in the side door with a cement block and took the cash register, which had $400 in it. He said the burglar was in and out in less than a minute.
There was about $2,000 worth of damages that night that he will need to pay out of pocket for, he said. He now takes home the cash from the register every night.
“This year it’s the smaller businesses that are being hit,” Mr. Ivanov said.
He said he didn’t think things like this would be happening and that’s one of the reasons he wanted to open his shop in Walnut Creek. Now he wonders frequently if he’s going to get robbed again.
According to a Walnut Creek Police Department (WCPD) news release, Jarvis Ferguson, a 40-year-old man from San Francisco, was arrested on Aug. 2 in connection with seven businesses that were burglarized in Walnut Creek. Six were downtown, and one was on Oak Grove Road.
The WCPD identified Mr. Ferguson as one of the suspects they believed to be responsible for the burglaries. Mr. Ferguson is in custody on charges including second-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. This is still an active investigation with additional unidentified suspects.
According to a report from NewsBreak, a man and a pregnant woman were caught on camera breaking into Tellus Coffee on Main Street and stealing cash out of the register on Aug. 7 while it was still light outside but the business was closed.
At a Walnut Creek Community Town Hall meeting, Janay McCullough, owner of Tellus Coffee, told NBC Bay Area: “They are telling us that it’s not as bad as we think it is. Well, tell that to my staff and I that just got robbed and all these other businesses that have been robbed.”
She also told KRON4: “In that same day that Tellus was robbed, I saw with my own eyes Nordstrom getting robbed; my next-door neighbor got broken into. … It’s really getting out of control.”
Walnut Creek City Council member Kevin Wilk told NBC Bay Area: “We are going to have enough police on hand. We are going to be able to prevent, deter, and catch people should they come to Walnut Creek [and do] something criminal.”
The WCPD stated that it will also be adding more patrols, specifically during retail hours.
