WEST TOWN — Two burglaries in two weeks have occurred at two restaurants on the Near West Side and West Town — including one in which thieves made off with an ATM.
Popular pizza restaurant Salerno's, at 1201 W. Grand Ave., was burglarized late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, Chicago Police confirmed. Sushi Dokku, 823 W. Randolph St., was hit earlier this month.
Salerno's co-owner Pete Lia said the offenders got away with an ATM machine that sat in restaurant. An employee discovered the break-in just before the restaurant opened at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
At the restaurant, Lia said he wasn't sure if anything else was missing — employees were still taking stock of the damage.
The offenders gained entry by breaking a window, Lia said, and employees found broken locks, too.
"I was very surprised, we've never had nobody bother us," Lia said. "This is the first time we've ever had this happen in 30 years."
Known for their Chicago-style pan and thin crust pizzas, the Salerno family emigrated from Italy to open their first restaurant in suburban Berwyn in 1966. Relatives later opened restaurants across the Chicago area, including in West Town.
A second break-in at Sushi Dokku in the heart of the Randolph restaurant row was reported earlier this month, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman.
At about 10 a.m. Jan. 12, a delivery driver making a delivery to the sushi restaurant discovered that the building's front doors had been forced open. An unknown amount of cash and a laptop computer was stolen, Estrada said.
In both incidents, police do not have suspects in custody and area central detectives continue to investigate the crimes. Police do not believe the two burglaries are related.
Sushi Dokku opened in January 2013 in the space formerly occupied by Sushi Wabi.
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