A Federal Way coffee shop is rebuilding its storefront after a truck rammed through the building on Friday morning.
It happened around 3:30 a.m. at Poverty Bay Café near 320th Place.
“How could this happen? I know that there’s a lot of property crime in the area right now. But I never think of it being us, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ This just finally hit home,” said David Harrison, Executive Director of local nonprofit Fusion.
Fusion runs the café. It’s a place that is dedicated to helping those who need it most. Harrison understands times are tough, but is sad it has to come down to this.
“I know that there are people in the community that are in need and at a certain point, this is what they resort to,” he said.
This marks the fourth break-in at Poverty Bay Café over the last year. Harrison says they were prepared for the worst.
“We’ve got security cameras up here that are new and then a burglary alarm system that we’ve installed,” Harrison said. “We have policies in place to make sure everything is secure when we lock up at night. So there’s no money in the tills. There’s nothing of any value around that anyone could steal.”
The thieves only got away with two sodas. What seems like a small price to pay, is now taking a toll on employees.
“Having to come in looking at plywood every day when you’re coming into somewhere that is supposed to be happy and safe and comfortable. It’s frustrating that they chose to do it in such a destructive way,” said Megan Anderson.
She’s been working at the shop for a few months but has been a loyal customer for years.
“It’s unfortunate that people feel they have to resort to this. Especially for a café that’s been in the community for as long as it has and serves the purpose it does with Fusion,” Anderson explained.
Even though it will take time to repair, she says the community will help them bounce back.
“Our supporters of Fusion absolutely lifted us up. We have a great customer base, we have great support from the community so we’re very thankful for that.”
Poverty Bay Cafe faces about $20,000 to $30,000 in damages. They temporarily closed on Friday and will reopen on Saturday.
The shop is working with Federal Way police to find the people responsible.
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