A trio of Houston restaurants were reportedly targeted in a string of overnight break-ins in the same neighborhood. On Friday, three businesses in the Heights shared photos on social media of their plight, two of which happened to be on the same street.
Just before 9 a.m., Kojak’s Cafe at 1912 W. 18th St. reported someone had broken into the fast casual restaurant overnight. A photo showed the burglars had shattered the front door glass. The cafe said it would remain open despite the damage.
About an hour later, IIM Vietnamese Eatery, located about 1.5 miles away at 718 W. 18th St., reported a similar break-in and shared a photo of its shattered pickup-order window.
Taqueria Arandas No. 3 at 920 N Shepherd Dr. later shared photos of a broken window and surveillance video in the Houston Heights Foodies Facebook group, saying the person shown in the footage may have been the suspect.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t the only business in and around the Heights that got hit last night. This was the only photo we were able to get of the guy. He took off on a bike, and from the looks of it, he may have left with a little souvenir—a cut on his hoodie,” Arandas’ post read.
In a conversation with Chron, Arandas owner Jacob Quintal said that it happened around 4 a.m. Surveillance footage shows that the person was only in the restaurant for about one minute. While nothing was actually stolen, he says the damage to the window is estimated to cost up to $2,500 to repair.
It’s unclear whether the break-ins were connected or if anything was stolen from the other two restaurants. Chron reached out to the parties as well as the Houston Police Department for more information.