LODI, Calif. — It was back to mixing drinks and calling out orders Friday at Lisabeth Rivera's Mexican coffee shop, Cafecito Lounge. When Rivera walked up to her Kettleman Lane business to open it up Tuesday morning, she walked in to see the remnants of an overnight break-in.
"Heartbroken. Sad," said Rivera, describing her reaction to seeing shards of glass all over the ground and her front window broken open. "(The burglars) walk in, walk out, and within 30 seconds, they are out the door."
The burglary around 9:30 p.m. Monday night happened quick, but by the end, left her business with thousands of dollars in damages and losses.
"Just the window alone is $1,500 that we have to pay. Registers, we have to order new ones. It's about $800, and then closing our day so you know, that kind of adds up," said Rivera whose 1-year-old café was also broken into in August.
Ever since the August burglary, Rivera says she no longer leaves cash in her coffee shop overnight.
It wasn't just Rivera dealing with broken glass from overnight burglaries this week, but also owners of at least four other Lodi businesses where similar break-ins were reported to police.
"The police officers that came and tried to help us out — they're frustrated and annoyed as well. You know, we're frustrated and annoyed," said Rivera. "We're trying our best to keep our businesses going."
The Lodi Police Department says their investigators are looking into whether the burglaries are connected. One of the burglaries happened doors down from the Cafecito Lounge nearly two days after the coffee shop was broken into. No arrests have been made.
"We don't want to board up or put rails on our windows. We don't want to do any of that," said Rivera, adding that her business will soon be installing thicker glass. "But having to push ourselves to do something like that is our next step."
Rivera wants to avoid taking that next step, hoping community support will get her business through and crime will stay away from her café.
"We have our loyal customers that are very supportive, have been here to help us out and we're thankful for them," said Rivera. "Hopefully it doesn't happen again."
Watch more from ABC10: Stockton restaurant burglarized days after its taco truck was robbed at gunpoint
