TAMPA, Fla. — Two Seminole Heights business owners said their restaurant was burglarized last week in the early morning hours.
Mark Birkin and Caroline Bond said someone broke into Ichiban Sushi Ramen on North Florida Avenue.
The couple said the thief appeared to have broken a glass door around 3:00 a.m. and returned a few hours later to steal money from a cash register.
Surveillance cameras caught video of the thief around the property and in the business.
"We don't keep a lot of cash anyway so it was only like $675-$850 somewhere around there, that's all they took. He kept going through the whole place," said Birkin.
Birkin said typically they do not leave cash in the register overnight, but they were on vacation the days prior to the break-in.
"On the camera in the back, he want all the way in the backyard, and he was looking around with his flashlight to see what else was there," said Birkin.
Nearby business owners and neighbors checked their surveillance video to see if their cameras caught the thief in the nearby area.
The couple recently relocated their business to Seminole Heights about 3.5 months ago. Previously, they operated the restaurant on Fowler Avenue for nearly 40 years.
"She left the Fowler Avenue store. It's been there for 39 years, and we only left Fowler Avenue because rent went up another 20%," said Birkin.
Bond said she's disappointed someone would steal from them. She appreciates her loyal customers and employees.
She also said it was a dream of hers to own a restaurant.
"Because when I was a little kid, my parents always take us to the restaurant, that's our family time, once a week, we go to a different restaurant. We spent the family time together," said Bond.
The Tampa Police Department said it is investigating the burglary and continues to develop leads in the case.
Anyone with information that could help investigators, please call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130 and refer to report #25-656332.
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