Nuttopia was first broken into in September, one day after it opened.
TUCKER, Ga. — For the second time in four months, someone broke into a DeKalb County business and it was all caught on video.
A surveillance camera at Nuttopia captured a group of three men breaking into the business on Hugh Howell Road early Monday morning. The video shows the men repeatedly trying to shatter the glass, then it appears they crawl through a whole they made to open up the door for the third person.
“I put my all into this business to bring something new and inviting to the City of Tucker, and just to see that somebody can come in and rip it away from you for nothing, that was the most heartbreaking,” said Owner Shantell Reid said.
One day after opening in September, Reid said thieves broke into the store and stole about $300.
The store then decided to go cashless. That’s why Reid said this time they only got away with a drink, but it was going to cost her $2,000 to fix the damage.
“I was like, how am I going to pay this?,” Reid said. “Is it I pay this, or I pay rent?”
As she was getting ready to pay, a man, who wishes to remain anonymous, came up to her.
“A guy from the neighborhood just came up and he says, ‘I got you,’ and he hands the card to the guy and he says, ‘I’m gonna pay it in full,’ and I’m there like looking at him like, why?” Reid said.
That kindness and the support from customers is inspiring her to stay open.
When John Brieske heard what happened he decided to stop into Nuttopia for the first time.
“It’s bad enough that it happens to anybody, but if you got small businesses in the community, you need them to get a chance to grow and stay, and those types of things just hurt the community as well as the business people,” Brieske said.
Reid said City of Tucker staff came by after Monday’s break-in to tell her they’re looking into covering at least part of the repair costs. The city launched a facade grant program after smash-and-grab incidents like this in the summer.
A spokesperson for DeKalb Co. Police said officers are investigating both break-ins. There is no information at this point as to whether the break-ins are connected.
