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Williamsburg Vegan Eatery Robbed of $15K In Cash and Electronics, NYPD Says

By Gwynne Hogan | February 21, 2017 4:16pm
 The thief is thought to have got into the restaurant from a yard.
The thief is thought to have got into the restaurant from a yard.
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DCPI

WILLIAMSBURG — A burglar crept into a vegan restaurant and stole $5,000 of electronics and $10,000 in cash from safes, police said.

The thief was seen on surveillance footage snooping around a yard of Champs Diner at 197 Meserole St. just before 1:30 a.m. Monday, police said.

He got into the building and made off with four iPads, a Galaxy tablet and an Amazon Fire Kindle, as well as the weekend's proceeds at the cash-only restaurant, according to police and a worker.

"Basically we have our weekend sales where you can't go to the bank on Saturday and Sunday," said Champs manager Marissa Abaza, 28.

"He got it before we got [to the bank] in the morning."

Abaza said police and employees are still trying to figure how the burglar actually got into the restaurant. He's gotten into the yard through the neighboring residential building.

"I didn't leave the door unlocked," she said. "Nobody knows what happened."

Workers at Champs showed the photo of the burglar to residents in the area, some of whom said they recognized the man as a local, she said. 

Anyone with information can contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)