LINCOLN PARK — The owner of a Lincoln Park salon is warning neighboring businesses after surveillance video of a plant theft made her realize the culprits were likely stealing more than greenery from the area.
The theft occurred about 3:30 a.m. Aug. 6 at Smith & Davis Salon, 735 W. Wrightwood Ave., according to the surveillance video obtained by DNAinfo Chicago.
The video initially shows two men walking up to the outdoor plant baskets hanging from the railing, which were installed just three days prior. One of the of men, while carrying a piece of electronic equipment, appears to snag either a small plant or flower.
The pair walks a couple of feet before the plant stealer hands off the electronics to the second man, who gets into a car. Then, the plant stealer goes back to snag a tall tropical plant before joining the other man in the car and driving off, the video shows.
"Initially, I just thought it was some drunk kids from the bar, which I don't condone but I can understand a bunch of drunk kids standing on the corner ... a little stunt," said co-owner Stevie Smith.
Smith said once she and her staff saw the video, that did not appear to be the case.
"The reason we wanted to alert people to it is because when we watched the video we realized the guys were carrying electronics under their arms, and their demeanor standing on the corner led us to believe that they were up to much more and that the plant was kind of an afterthought, like maybe I'll bring a cute plant home for the missus."
She added: "You can tell, they were out looking for anything that wasn't bolted down to snag ... they had a getaway car."
Even though the stolen leafy tropical plant is only valued at $20, the whole staff was so excited to beautify the outside of the shop with hanging flower and plant baskets, Smith said.
Staffer Adrianna Lombardo said the salon had been getting a lot of compliments from neighbors since the the baskets were installed a few days prior to the theft.
"As a small business in a neighborhood, you're trying to make your business look nice and have curb appeal. We care about the neighborhood, so just to so cavalierly go and grab a plant ...," Smith said.
The plant can't be replaced because Gethsemane Garden Center told them it was the last of its kind for the season, Smith said.
In the almost three years the salon has called the Wrightwood Avenue location home, this is the first theft, Lombardo said. The shop was tagged with graffiti the first week it opened.
"I think sometimes small crimes lead to bigger crimes. So, it's important to keep those lines of communication open for other businesses. Maybe someone recognizes that person, maybe that's someone's stereo," Smith said.
Last month, on the far north side in West Ridge, a taxi company caught a woman stealing plants outside of its headquarters. It's offering a $500 reward if anyone can identify the woman, or the flowers.
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