Fresno Latin American restaurant sees 3 break-ins in 6 months

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Cinco de Mayo got off to a bad start for a Latin American restaurant in northwest Fresno when a burglar broke in early Thursday morning.

Sabor Cocina hoped to do big business on May 5, but any profits might just go to paying for damages caused by the third burglary here in about six months.

Surveillance cameras recorded a few different angles of the burglar who broke into the restaurant on Fresno's Figarden Loop at around 5 a.m.

The restaurant's owners had planned to come in early on Cinco de Mayo, but not that early.

"You know, to prepare for this evening not to be here, go to the store and buy chains to lock the door because that's what we have to do," said owner Alberto Torres. "The door doesn't lock."

Torres and Santos Arevalo don't think this guy stole anything from them, but they think he tried to quiet their alarm system by smashing it.

And burglars have struck twice before in recent months.

Two weeks ago, a burglar stole electronics.

In October, the crook took a lot more.

"They took money," Torres said. "They took electronics. They took wine and a lot of stuff."

The restaurant's owners don't think the same person broke in all three times.

Insurance only covers a portion of the losses, so the repeat burglaries are a financial burden.

And they say people experiencing homelessness in the area have become a problem since they opened in 2015.

They spent their morning cleaning up and trying to make their business a tougher target to hit so they can spend their evening dishing out Cinco de Mayo specials on margaritas and appetizers.

"From now on, we're going to focus on meeting our guests' expectations for tonight," Torres said.

They've reported all three burglaries to Fresno police but haven't gotten updates about any of the investigations.