MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The owners of a Minneapolis hardware store say they're at their breaking point after burglars took off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
Elena Nelson and Sam Rosch, co-owners of Nicollet Ace Hardware, said it started around 12:45 a.m. Friday. Surveillance video shows a person busting out the windows of the store's entrance doors. For the next three hours, burglars went in and out of the store stealing everything from power tools to outdoor equipment.
Nelson said she believes based off the surveillance video that it was six burglars in total but it's unclear whether they were working together or separate. In a Facebook post, the store called it a "snatch and grab for the neighborhood."
A group of three took off with the most merchandise, even using a wheelbarrow to haul their loot out.
"Horrible feeling in your stomach," Rosch said. "Just feels terrible that someone would do this to us."
Nelson added, "And repeatedly, over and over. You treat this store as if it's one of your own kids. We're here all the time. We work very hard and to see it ransacked over, and over, and over again is very painful to watch that footage and see that happening for a good chunk of the night."
The alarm did not go off and alert police until around 3:45 am. — three hours after the initial break-in. Nelson said the delay was due to a malfunction that the alarm company has now fixed.
MPD said no arrests have been made in this case.
The burglars stole about $6,000 worth of merchandise in replacement cost, many of them power tools.
About a month ago, the owners closed off the power tools section of their store. Customers need to ask for an employee's help to access the area.
"Shoplifting has always been an issue here so we've been waiting on metal cages. We ordered those months ago and we've been waiting on those," Nelson said.
Supply chain issues have led to the delay. They expect to get the metal cages in July. It could also impact their ability to restock the shelves.
"We don't even know if we're going to get everything back in that was stolen. We might have less selection so there's less able to be stolen," Nelson said.
From January 1 - April 24, 2022, there have been 600 burglaries and breaking and entering cases, according to Minneapolis police data. That's down from 694 in 2021 for the same time period.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, there have been 59 burglaries of businesses so far in April 2022 compared to 105 in April 2021 for the same time frame.
But Nelson and Rosch said their store is seeing an increase in shoplifting and property theft.
"We're seeing a lot of blatant shoplifting, a lot of grab and go, a lot of property theft from outside. I believe it's been more frequent in the last month, or maybe six weeks, than it was in years past. It could be because we have more now to offer. We recently redid the whole store and including a better power area, power tools and power equipment," Nelson said.
Rosch added, "We have some friendly competitors down the street that have had similar issues and propane tanks getting stolen and things like that."
Nelson and Rosch have owned the store since 2017 but both grew up in the store. Rosch's parents are the original owners.
Despite the burglary, they're thankful the store's two cats were okay. They are also grateful for the community's support.
"We're not going anywhere. We love Minneapolis as a whole. We love our neighborhood," Nelson said. "Our patrons are amazing so we're going to continue to be there for them."