Oakland restauranteur fed up after 3 break-ins in 3 weeks

OAKLAND, Calif. - Osvaldo Sanchez is beyond frustrated. He's the general manager of Agave Uptown restaurant in Oakland, which has been broken into three times in the past three weeks. Since it opened in 2016 at 22nd Street and Broadway, it's been burglarized 22 times.

"It's a lot of stress, it's frustration," Sanchez said Friday. "I have to, like, find a way to like get the attention from the Police Department, government, mayor, whatever it is because they really need to stop this, you know?"

At about 4:45 a.m. Thursday, a man forced the lock and went straight to the bar. He picked up a bottle of mezcal, which is alcohol made from agave plants. He even took time to read the label. He left with just the bottle but caused more damage to the door.

"The crimes are just driving us, you know, crazy," Sanchez said.

Especially when it keeps happening over and over again.

Last week, two men were seen on surveillance video using a crowbar and then a longer pry tool to break in. The restaurant again had to pay to fix the door.

And on Jan. 30, several thieves broke in and ransacked the business.

"Like it or not, restaurants, businesses, we're dying, little by little," Sanchez said. "It's taken money, energy and stress, you know, sometimes you feel like you want to give up."

Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo stopped by the restaurant on Friday. He says he and his family have dined at Agave Uptown many times.

"I'm here today because I want him to stay in Oakland," Gallo said. "We need to do better to protect our businesses. At the end of the day, they're the ones that pay the taxes, employees, our residents. I gotta keep this restaurant here."

Customers say they, too, want this business to survive.

"It does feel like something has changed," said Michelle Collier of Oakland in between bites of lunch. "I just feel like there's more crime in the city. It's totally advantageous for our city council and police department to get together and work in a community-oriented way." 

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan