AUSTIN (KXAN) — Another Austin business was targeted overnight following a series of burglaries and robberies at a strip mall off US 183 near Anderson Mill Road.
Banh Mi Oven said its glass doors were smashed in early Monday and that the burglar stole an empty cash register. It comes after Amy’s Ice Cream, Phil’s Ice House and Eastside Pies told KXAN its stores were all broken into over the weekend, with cash stolen from registers.
The Austin Police Department told KXAN all break-ins happened in overnight hours and police think they’re connected.
East Side Pies owner Noah Polk said he is especially frustrated because three of his locations have been broken into and robbed in less than two weeks.
“Technically, four [times],” Polk said. “It’s like man, it must be somebody we’ve dealt with before … [then again,] this is so much that it could possibly be anybody that we’ve really crossed paths with.”
Polk said they’re no longer accepting cash, hoping that deters robbers from coming back. Meanwhile, APD said it’s actively investigating the string of crimes.
“Just grinding through,” Polk said.
APD crime data shows in the last five years there have been a few dozen burglaries and just over 200 robberies in the 183 area. In some months, there have been multiple in one week, sometimes days a part, like in the recent series of incidents.