RACINE, Wis. — The new owners of Park Inn Diner are grateful for the community's support after someone broke into the restaurant through the roof.
The incident occurred overnight Thursday. Racine Police are investigating.
Marco Arteaga and DJ Daams became the new owners of the restaurant in May. They say the suspect spray-painted the windows and cameras and then destroyed an ATM for a few hundred dollars.
"Never seen something like this before," Arteaga said.
"It was very thought out. They did a lot of damage for nothing," Daams told TMJ4.
The two owners worried about the toll the damage would take.
"Thinking about the employees and what we were going to do for the day, already thinking about moving the food because how long are we going to be closed," Daams explained.
Arteaga and Daams saw the community rally behind them quickly. They say people started reaching out and pitching in to make repairs and clean.
Racine restaurant owners grateful for community support after break-in destroys roof
The diner was restored in less than a day.
"Me as a business owner. I know how hard it is how much you put into a business to get it started," local business owner Rogelio Hernandez said.
Hernandez heard about what happened while he was working for Arteaga. Right away, he spread the news and told friends and neighbors to visit the restaurant making for a busy Friday morning.
"I have never seen so much support like so many people," Arteaga stated.
"People that support I believe deserve support, so it just touched my heart a little bit," Hernandez said.
Daams and Arteaga are grateful for the response. They look forward to running the restaurant for years to come.
"It was nice. The community sometimes gets a bad rap and to see there is good and people did reach out, want to help, care and were concerned that's what we need," Daams said.
Anyone with information on the break-in is asked to contact police.
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