A Mount Baker restaurant was targeted by thieves for the third time this year.
Thien Phat is on Rainier Avenue South, right next to another Asian restaurant where the owner was shot and killed in January.
Thien Phat’s owner said this time, the thief went to extreme measures to get inside. He first rammed the doors with an SUV. When that didn’t work, he tied ropes to the door handles and ripped them clean off the doors.
It’s the third time since January someone has broken in.
“I’m kind of jaded from it, which I shouldn’t be but that’s how it is on Rainier [Ave.]” said Thien Phat owner Oahn Nguyen.
“This is like 3 times in a span of half a year,” she added.
This latest breach happened Friday, Sept. 15. The thief broke in around 4 a.m. and took the little money left in the building. Oahn said it was mainly coins from a religious shrine, a leukemia donation jar, and the tip jar.
“They assume that an Asian restaurant... we only take cash and we have cash here,” said Oahn.
She added, “Really, all that’s here is just like less than $20 worth of coins. It’s for pennies and right now we can’t even close our door at night.”
Oahn said it’ll cost over $2,000 to fix the damage from the break-in. The doors still don’t lock and Oahn’s uncle sleeps inside the restaurant at night to keep watch until the new glass gets in.
That temporary fix has Oahn still scared knowing the restaurant owner next door was shot and killed inside his establishment.
Seattle Police Crime Dashboard also shows between January 1 and August 31 of this year, Seattle has seen 25,854 property crimes; about 500 happened in Oahn’s Mount Baker neighborhood,
“There’s really nothing that we can do. To me, it’s worth it to stay here but we just need more representation, we need the council to do something because I feel like everyone’s ignoring Rainier [Ave.],” Oahn said,
Seattle police didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Councilmember Tammy Morales, the council person for District 2 said in a statement sent to KIRO 7:
I’m contacting the Mayor and Police Chief about this, since they oversee SPD operations. I understand the frustration and am going to urge them to work with this business owner to find a solution.
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