Pier 99, a popular North Beach spot that was voted Best of the Best All Around Restaurant of 2024, caught some unwanted attention with a burglary Thursday morning.
Pier 99 General Manager Doug Backer said someone broke in around 4 a.m. He believes whoever it was had a pretty good idea of the layout of the restaurant.
Backer describes the individual as a white male with a slim build.
“He quickly made his way in through the kitchen, through the dining room, straight to our security system,” Backer said.
But this burglar left some evidence behind.
“He did drop a weapon, a retractable baton. So the police have that. Hopefully there’s some prints on that,” Backer said.
The burglar didn't get any cash but some things were stolen.
“He tried to get into our cash registers. One of our employees left a Christmas bag of candy and snacks for the managers, he took that. I believe he took a ball cap or something else.”
The crime lasted less than two minutes. Fortunately, police had already been dispatched because of the alarm system. There was also no money in the register, but there was still property damage, and it was costly.
“He was able to pry it up just a little bit and shoved it in and the whole window popped out of the frame,” Backer said.
The cost to replace the window was a couple hundred dollars. The burglar also damaged the alarm system. It was replaced within four hours of the break in. That's another added cost.
“This is our new keypad. We had to replace it. About $550 for the new one, but he yanked the old one off. It’s unfortunate that we have to spend hard earned money to repair things unnecessarily but other than that everyone is safe,” Backer said.
He encourages other business owners and managers to take steps to secure their business before they too become a victim.
“Don’t leave cash in your register at night. If you can put it in a safe, get it to a bank better yet. Leave your register open too that way they don’t tear your register up. That and if you don’t have an alarm system, I would really invest in one,” Backer said.
Pier 99 said their staff is ready to welcome customers to enjoy a nice meal. They’re open from 11- 9 usually and Fridays and Saturdays til 10 pm.
If you have any information on the burglary or the individual, call 888-TIPS (8477).
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