BY TOM WEARING
Review Editor
The owners of Speedy Pizza and the Baldwin Cafe are lamenting a double break-in that resulted in the theft of money and significant damage to each business.
Oakland County Sheriff deputies responded to the incident after receiving a 7:30 a.m. call on Sunday from a Baldwin Cafe employee.
The restaurant and pizza establishment are adjacent to one another in a strip mall at the corner of Baldwin and Waldon roads. A similar combined break-in occurred at the businesses less than a year ago.
Deputies reported that about $150 was taken from the cash register at Speedy Pizza, while another $60 in change was missing from the register at the Cafe. The buildings incurred damages estimated to be about $1,000.
Brandon Brooks, general manager of Speedy Pizza, said he believes the intruders entered the building by forcing the back door open with a crow bar.
After taking money from the register, they entered a room at the rear of the restaurant where a wall was broken through to gain access to the Cafe.
Rob Shannon, a cook at the Baldwin Cafe, said it was a fellow employee who discovered the theft when he arrived for work, not long before the regular Sunday morning breakfast crowd was to arrive. The restaurant had to be closed for about an hour or so while police sifted through the evidence.
Shannon speculated that It couldn’t have been an easy entry for the intruders.
‘The sink was ripped off the wall and a 150-pound ice machine was moved from the wall,? he said. ‘It was a typical ‘smash and grab,? just like the break-in last year.?
For Brooks and his father, Steve Brooks, who has owned the pizza business for nearly three years, Sunday’s incident added insult to injury.
The elder Brooks had already been planning to close the business on Sunday (Oct. 8) because of a shortage of customers in recent months. The break-in multiplied the family’s frustrations.
‘There’s too many (pizza) places in the area and there wasn’t enough business to support us,? alluded Brandon Brooks. ? It’s been very stressful for the family.?
The younger Brooks noted that if there can be a silver lining to the incident, it’s that the person or persons who broke in left his precious Fender Stratocaster guitar behind.
‘It’s old and tore up, but I’m glad they didn’t take it,? he said.
With just a few days until the pizzeria’s doors close for good, Brooks encourages anyone interested in bidding on the the retaurant’s remaining ovens, freezers or other equipment, to stop by on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 10:30 a.m. for a sell-out auction. Or call 248-391-2700 for more information about available items.
‘We’re getting rid of everything,? said Brooks. ‘The family is tired of the business.?