NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A popular Uptown restaurant is left cleaning up a mess after the place was vandalized Monday night. Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria owners told WGNO-TV employees got to work at the South Miro Street restaurant on Tuesday morning to find the glass in the front doors shattered.
The store’s owner, Pike Howard, said no money was stolen but bottles of tequila were taken along with a television. Their point of sales systems were also stolen and are valued at $2,500. Surveillance images show at least two people inside the restaurant.
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Burglars break into Felipe’s Taqueria on National Taco Day
Owners tell us, “Our enthusiastic team arrived just after 7 am this morning to open up for an exciting National Taco Day to find the Uptown restaurant completely vandalized. Doors shattered, TVs, computer equipment and alcohol stolen, cash drawers thrown out around the kitchen. Our energy has been focused on rebuilding our team in southwest Florida and now we have to clean up this mess. Be better New Orleans.”
Howard said that the restaurant will open for its National Taco Day celebration. Felipe’s had already been dealing with damage from Hurricane Ian at its Southwest Florida locations. Howard says he can’t catch a break–the pandemic, hurricanes, and now this.
“It is kind of like a punch in the gut after 3 or 4 years, you want to get excited have momentum and then stuff like this happens, but we are Felipe’s strong so I’d say to the criminals—good try,” he said.
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