SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diego police are looking for the thieves that smashed through the front door of Point Loma Coffee and TechOutfitters on Thursday morning.
The thieves grabbed the cash register and ran away before anyone could stop them. The Manager of Point Loma Coffee told 10News he got to the store minutes after the thieves took off, around 7 a.m., and found people gathered out front.
“I couldn’t speak for the first few seconds," Jane Wardlaw said. "I just looked at it and looked at them and they said 'We don’t know, it was like this when we got here.'"
Owner Kathleen Walker says the crime was committed in the 30-45 minute window before Wardlaw got to work, but after others had set up the patio for the day.
"They just grabbed the cash box and ran," Walker said.
Walker is determined not to let the thousands of dollars in damage stop their operation. She says many of her customers that morning pitched in to help clean up the mess and get them back on track.
“It’s turning a good thing out of a bad thing," she said.
One of the baristas also decided to decorate the plywood they used to board up the door until they can get it fixed, drawing a welcome sign on it.
"It was so terrible to look at, just this awful piece of plywood and she immediately volunteered, 'I can make this better,'" Wardlaw said. "It's much nicer. It looks like it was on purpose."
Walker says other customers have stopped in throughout the day telling her they were sorry to hear what happened.
“Very heartwarming to have such a bad thing happen and then have the community come together,” Walker said.
This is the second similar crime in the area; a pizza shop was broken into and the cash register pried open four blocks away from Point Loma Coffee.
Police are investigating, but have not made any arrests.
