MIAMI (WSVN) - The owner and chef of a Miami restaurant is stunned after his restaurant was burglarized just a week before he planned to open.
Surveillance footage captured two thieves inside Ferraro’s Kitchen, Sunday, stealing expensive equipment and ransacking the store. The restaurant, off Northwest 79th Street, was supposed to open in a week.
“I just got a brand new coffee machine, like $7,000, stolen like this,” Igor Ferraro, the restaurant’s chef and owner, said.
Surveillance footage showed one suspect trying and failing to get in before coming back with the second suspect. Using plastic crates, the two men managed to get in a side window.
“It looks like they were trying to pry one of the doors open,” said Miami Police Lt. Freddie Cruz. “They were unsuccessful, and they were able to gain entry through some side window.”
Police said the thieves stole equipment and caused damage in excess of $25,000.
“This is not their first time at the rodeo, from what it appears,” Cruz said.
Authorities gave 7News surveillance footage that shows who, they said, is the older suspect. The suspect was pushing a wheelbarrow near the restaurant earlier in the day, wearing a blue shirt and possibly plotting the theft.
“We’re looking for two white males, possibly Hispanic. One of them is in his 60s and the other one in his 40s,” Cruz said.
Ferraro said that with the help of his friends, he hopes he can still open the restaurant next week.
“I have a family. I have two kids. I have my niece, too,” Ferraro said. “They have to find a job as I did. I’ve been working hard all my life to get this goal, and I don’t accept people like that destroy my life.”
Police said they have fingerprints from the thieves, but they could use the public’s help.
If you have any information on this burglary, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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