Rash of Restaurant Break-Ins Extends to Berkeley Neighborhood

A recent rash of Denver restaurant break-ins has spread to the Berkeley neighborhood. Il Porcellino (4324 West 41st Avenue) owners Bryan Albano and Bill Miner were greeted this morning by a smashed-in front door and a missing cash register; nothing else was taken and the register was empty, they report. Just a few blocks away, Snarf's Sandwiches, at 5001 West 38th Avenue, was also hit. According to Snarf's director of marketing Jill Preston, nothing was taken; police have boarded up a broken side window.

Miner says he was told by police that a Subway in the neighborhood was also hit and that the description of all three incidents are the same, with three suspects — one of whom may already have been arrested — using a stolen vehicle to drive up and get away. Miner posted a photo on Facebook this morning of a bullet — used to break the front window — lodged in the front deli case. He says they already have another cash register set up, so they'll be open for business as usual tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. (the store is always closed on Mondays).

These incidents follow a burglary two weekends ago at Onefold at 1420 East 18th Avenue, where a thief smashed in the front door and made off with a full cash register. And in late March, the Lobby American Grille at 2191 Arapahoe Street was victimized three times, including twice in one night by the same perpetrator, according to CBS Denver. 
Kaos Pizzeria, at 1439 South Pearl Street, was hit in January, and owner Patrick Mangold-White has offered a year's worth of pizza to anyone who can identify the thief, who was caught on surveillance video. While security systems and surveillance equipment can help deter — or at least help capture — miscreants, small start-up restaurants can't always afford sophisticated technology. And with Denver's rapid growth and new businesses setting up shop in transitional areas, you could soon be seeing security gates and barred windows — already common sights downtown and at older establishments — in quieter neighborhoods, too.