BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Thieves hit four different Birmingham restaurants early Wednesday morning.
On Valley Avenue, criminals broke in to both El Taco Loco and The Great Wall. Owners and employees were disgusted with the whole situation and hope that police are able to find those responsible.
“We saw four commercial burglaries. Two happened in the Uptown entertainment district and two happened in the Valley Avenue Area,” said Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald.
The Great Wall Owner shared security footage with us that shows at 3:14 a.m. the thieves used a crowbar to break a window, they then sprinted to the registers and stole more than $2,000 in cash. Police are investigating each of the incidents and are working to determine if they are all connected.
“The two in the Valley Avenue area look strikingly similar. However, the two businesses in the Uptown District may be different,” said Officer Fitzgerald.
Police responded to The Great Wall early Wednesday morning and then came back out once the sun was up to speak with the owners and look at the security footage. Officer Fitzgerald is now encouraging other business owners to take steps to protect themselves this holiday season.
“Our historical data shows that burglaries, thefts like the ones we saw, they take place around this time. So we can use this as a good opportunity to really reinforce some good tips going into the holiday season. Alarm system, surveillance footage, make it difficult for them,” said Fitzgerald.
The Great Wall’s team said they will be making security enhancements to protect themselves and less than 24 hours after the break-in, they re-opened their doors.