South Congress businesses face wave of break-ins

South Congress businesses concerned after burglaries

Frustration is rising for Austin business owners on South Congress, as a recent string of burglaries has led to the loss of thousands of dollars in cash and property damage.

AUSTIN, Texas - Frustration is rising for Austin business owners on South Congress, as a recent string of burglaries has led to the loss of thousands of dollars in cash and property damage.

One of those break-ins was caught on a restaurant's Ring cameras.

South Congress break-ins

The backstory:

Footage from Habana Restaurant showed two suspects breaking into the business in the early hours of Tuesday, August 19.

The suspects went directly to the manager's office, where they stole a 100-pound safe containing $3,800.

"This is my fourth break in this calendar year. These guys were professional though. Usually I have trouble with vagrants, a lot of throwing rocks through my windows or just trying to pop my doors with crowbars and take items. These guys we're fully covered. They kind of knew exactly what they were looking for. Safe, they were in and out quick," says the owner of Habana Restaurant, TJ Williams.

North Austin businesses hit by burglars

A string of burglaries in North Austin left small business owners a mess to clean up, and at least one is rethinking how they're going to do business moving forward.

Williams has been working with Austin PD over the incident, but law enforcement has had their hands full. There have been similar burglaries up and down South Congress and in East Austin over the last few months.

"They had told me this is a string of incidents. It might be the same couple of guys. I know they're targeting other retail and food businesses up and down Congress and on the East Side," says Williams.

Dig deeper:

According to Austin police crime data, along South Congress from Nellie Street to Ben White Boulevard, 42 burglaries have been reported since the beginning of this year. Ten of those break-ins have happened since the beginning of July.

The increased criminal activity is beginning to have some impact on how businesses can serve their customers.

"It's definitely escalating. We used to have these really cool outdoor patios, and now we've had to sort of lock them up with fencing. It's definitely escalating. Before I would get maybe one incident a month, maybe now it is two a week," says Williams.

The issue is spreading to businesses further up the road. A break-in at Jo’s Coffee on South Congress two weekends ago has now led to the popular shop going completely cashless in hopes of stopping burglaries from being a regular event.

So far, these businesses say they’ve had support from Austin PD, but for owners like Williams, it’s costing him big time when it comes to security and repairs. He believes a solution to security in the area comes down to increased police patrols in the area.

FOX 7 has reached out to Austin PD, but has yet to hear back.

The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Marco Bitonel

South Congress Crime and Public Safety