A tea shop in downtown San Jose says repeated crime has made it difficult to stay open.
Tea Villa owner Ian Hamm said there have been more than 20 break-ins since the pandemic began, seven of which have occurred in the past year. He can't afford to keep replacing the glass.
“This glass panel alone broke four times and I got fed up with it. So I tried pasting acrylic on it. But they tried to break it with some kind of rock. They couldn't do that, so they decided to burn it. I did it,” he said. “The security camera was ripped off the wall.”
Ha added that the technology they rely on for takeout orders was also stolen by the robbers.
“They ripped all the tablets off our walls. So they were really expensive. So we had an iPad, we had a Samsung, and we replaced them three or four times. ” he said.
Ha said four PlayStation consoles purchased for customers' use were also stolen. But his biggest expense was the broken windows.
“All four of these panels were just broken into in the last nine months,” he said.
Ha said the incident has forced him to decide between paying his employees or paying thousands of dollars to replace the windows. He decided to board them up with plywood.
Manuel Perez has been a security guard at the building for the past 10 years and told NBC Bay Area he has seen an increase in crime recently.
“I've been here the whole time. If a window breaks, you call the police and that's it,” he said.
San Jose police did make one arrest, but Ha said the break-ins continued and he was worried about his employees.
“It's not just about me and the store's safety, it's about the safety of my employees. That's why everyone here is worried. We don't even know how long we're going to be here, you know?” he said.
Ha said that during the pandemic, Tea Villa distributed free food, clothing and blankets to people in need. Now, he's hoping the community can help stay in business.
