La Esquinita Mexican Grill in Long Beach deals with third break-in in less than six months
A family-owned restaurant in Long Beach had a break-in in 2021 and two this month. The community is helping to pay for repairs.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- La Esquinita Mexican grill in Long Beach serves authentic Mexican food.
"We opened Oct. 18 of 2021. My brother has been a cook for over 20 years so this was kind of his lifelong dream," said Cynthia Zaragoza, the social media manager at La Esquinita Mexican Grill.
Just two months after they opened their doors to the Long Beach community, the restaurant had a break-in.
"The alarm set off, we were here early in the morning to a window completely shattered. We were devastated because as it is, it had already taken two years to open up because of the setbacks with the pandemic," said Zaragoza.
Flash forward to 2022, they've now been open for almost six months, but they've had more obstacles.
They have had two more breaks in less than 24 hours over the weekend.
On the restaurant's surveillance footage, a man picks up a rock and throws it at the window. After failing, he does it again, breaking the restaurant window.
Less than 24 hours later, two men in hoodies break in.
"Checked in our freezer, didn't find anything. Seems like they were looking for a safe. Only a couple items were taken of not much value. Honestly, the damages are what's going to cost the most," said Zaragoza.
The family says they don't have the money to hire staff at the moment so it's been all hands on deck from family members. They say the additional costs of these repairs is a small setback for them.
"I've been able to learn from him too to make the burritos, package the food, take orders. I feel like it's really cool to see everybody and have customers know you and almost become your friends and family," said Isabella Marquez, a family member and employee at the restaurant.
Family members say the community has had their back.
"One of our neighbors even put together a GoFundMe account for us so that's really what's keeping us going." Said Claudia Marquez, a family member and employee at the restaurant.
We reached out to Long Police about all three incidents, they say the investigations are ongoing.
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