BEDFORD, Texas — Business owners along a Bedford strip mall south of Airport Freeway had a rough start to the week.
Jonathan Merrill, the owner of Colossal Sandwich, is among at least seven business owners who told WFAA they were burglarized early Monday morning.
“It’s very tough,” Merrill said. “How safe are we?”
Merrill arrived to his local restaurant and found his glass side door shattered.
Surveillance video from inside of his restaurant captured the moment two people with face coverings got inside, jumped over his counter and broke into his cash register.
The entire register and monitor were destroyed, Merrill told WFAA. The alleged burglars stole hundreds of dollars and caused at least $5,000 in damage at the sandwich shop, Merrill said.
Connie Doyle, the owner of upholstery shop Abode Fabric & Rug, said her small business was also broken into. Doyle told WFAA the burglars smashed through her front door and stole $500 from her register.
“I’m angry,” Doyle. “It just makes me mad cause we work really hard for our money.”
Merrill told WFAA the alleged burglary couldn’t have come at a worse time for him.
“We sweat every payday, are we gonna have enough for rent?” Merrill said.
His small business was already struggling to stay afloat amid a sharp rise in food costs and a decline in customers.
"This is how my family feeds themselves. We work hard. We help anyone who needs help," Merrill said. "I feel bad that someone feels that’s the way they gotta do it."
The community has begun helping Merrill recover from the damage by donating to an online fundraising campaign his family set up.
WFAA reached out to Bedford police for more information on the incidents and suspects but did not hear back.