Police are investigating separate incidents involving vandalism and burglary that recently affected two local restaurants in Boyle Heights.
Purgatory Pizza suffered an early morning burglary on Wednesday, Feb. 19, impacting their operations for the day and causing financial loss.
According to a spokesperson with the Los Angeles Police Department, a suspect broke into the restaurant located at 1326 E. 1st Street shortly before 6:30 a.m. and stole property. Purgatory Pizza’s general manager Noe Abarca told Boyle Heights Beat the suspect broke through the shop’s glass door and stole a cash register while another suspect waited outside on a bicycle.
The two fled the scene following the break-in, he said.
“It all happened quickly like they were prepared with a plan to get in and out,” Abarca said.
Abarca added that surveillance cameras at Purgatory were able to capture footage of the break in, which the business shared with responding officers. He said the cost of repairs plus money stolen during the burglary left the business facing a loss of around $5,000.
Just a week prior, Un Solo Sol, a restaurant on 1st Street with vegetarian and vegan offerings, experienced a case of vandalism.
According to owner Carlos Ortez, his business was vandalized sometime in the morning on Thursday, Feb. 13 by someone who threw a thick metal disk that broke through the restaurant’s glass door and damaged one of its walls. The cost to repair the damage was around $1,000, plus lost revenue of about $1,000 from having to close the shop for a day for repairs.
“We’ve already been counting pennies in profit for a while now, so $2,000 is a significant loss for an already devastated small business,” said Ortez. “It caused a lot of pain and grief.”
Ortez found support from the community after sharing the incident on social media. He was encouraged by the local residents’ response, especially on Valentine’s Day.
“The community here always responds in solidarity when something like this happens to a small business,” said Ortez. “It’s unfortunate how often break-ins happen. Things in the city are upside down.”
Both incidents are currently under investigation and it’s unknown whether they are related, police said.
