OLD TOWN — The Pure Barre exercise studio at 1350 N. Wells St. is the latest storefront to be hit by a rock-throwing vandal in what's become a rash of smashed windows across the North Side.
According to Pure Barre outlet owner Rachel True, someone tried to break the front window earlier this week before returning Wednesday night to finish the job with the front door.
"It's not actually broken," True said of the window Thursday morning, shortly after someone completely shattered the front door with a rock. "My guess is the people decided they really needed to break the glass here."
Someone hurled a smooth rock through the front door Wednesday night. There were no signs of entry or burglary, and according to True it didn't even set off the store's motion-detection security.
Saying, "It's very smooth. It looks like a river rock," True said it resembled a rock used to smash glass at Josh Moulton Fine Art Gallery, 2218 N. Clark St., last month.
A rock used to shatter the front door at Pure Barre in Old Town (left) closely resembles one that shattered a window at Josh Moulton Fine Art Gallery in Lincoln Park last month (right), even though they're not commonly found on Chicago streets. [DNAinfo/Ted Cox; Josh Moulton]
North Side merchants have been hit with a string of smashed storefront windows this year, including a bridal boutique at Clark and Belden Avenue earlier this week.
Just on Monday night, the Colette Collection in Lakeview, 2858 N. Clark St., had a window smashed. Only the outer layer of the window was shattered, said owner Lauren Rubbelke, and employees didn't learn of it until the next morning.
"I am unsure [of the] exact cost as we are trying to work with our landlord on the issue," Rubbelke said of replacing the window. "It is a large window though so I am imagining it will be very pricey."
Rubbelke had heard of other businesses having their windows smashed, she said, and had hoped whoever was responsible had been caught — and then her window was broken.
Police appear to be turning up the pressure, True said, noting, "The cops came right away" — within minutes of when the first instructor to arrive Thursday reported it at 4:45 a.m.
"They shook up our staff, and they ruined some of our clients' days too," True said. "I just hope they get what's coming to them.
"It's not great publicity for the business by any means, but I just want those people to get caught," True added. "I'd love for them to get caught, because I'd love for them to pay my [repair] bill.
"I'm frustrated, because what is the purpose for doing this?" True said. "All you're doing is ruining someone's day, making our clients feel uncomfortable and hurting our business and making me pay thousands of dollars. So unless you work for a glass company what are you possibly getting out of this?"
