The first three burglaries happened between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. in the 1600-block of East 55th Street, police said.
A fourth burglary took place at 3 a.m. in the 1600-block of East 56th Street, and a fifth happened at about 5:07 a.m. in the 1600-block of East 55th Street.
Huaraches Mexican Restaurant remains open for business on Tuesday despite suffering a setback. Their front door is missing after being shattered during a break-in.
The owner, Andres Rangel, discovered the damage and saw what his surveillance cameras captured: A break-in around 3 a.m. where three suspects were in and out in one minute.
"They came in. They were outside. They just took cash from my register," Rangel said.
Rangel says the thieves took about $200, and it will cost five times that to pay for a new door. This all happened, he says, after the business has already experienced a downturn in business because of immigration enforcement action.
"Since September, our sales went down to 50%. And now, come to this," Rangel said.
Huaraches, along with two other restaurants and a locksmith shop, all in the 1600-block of East 55th Street, were broken into early Tuesday. Phares Davis manages the security shop and is trying to make sense of what happened.
"What are you doing at 3 o'clock in the morning? Most folks are asleep, getting ready for the next morning, taking kids to school, work, things of that nature," Davis said.
Dawn A.M. Eatery, located around the corner, was also hit. Racquel Fields is the owner, and says the thieves got away with a small amount of money, but the incident will not deter her from operating a business in a community she enjoys.
"Overwhelmingly, we've been very safe here. We've been very lucky. Dawn has been here two years. My other restaurant, 14 Parish, has been here five years, and we just don't see this often," Fields said.
Police said in each of the break-ins, the suspects broke or damaged the front door of the business before fleeing in an unknown direction.
Two of the suspects wore black hooded sweatshirts, masks, and gloves, police said. A third suspect wore an orange hooded sweatshirt, mask, and gloves.
No one is in custody, and Area One detectives are investigating. Police asked anyone with information to call them at 312-747-8380 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com and use reference #P25-1-118.
Ald. Desmon Yancy, who represents the 5th Ward, says he is concerned about the impact crimes like this can have on small businesses and encourages anyone with information about what happened to share it with police.
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