KENDALL, Fla. – The owner of a popular barbeque restaurant in Miami-Dade County is offering a reward for information about the crook who burglarized the business overnight.
The burglary occurred just after 2 a.m. Wednesday at Apocalypse BBQ, located at 9980 SW 104th St.
“It makes you feel really angry and vile inside,” owner Jeff Bud said.
Surveillance video shows the thief walking around the pop-up tent area at the front of the restaurant before finding his way into the business.
The burglar is then seen going behind the bar area before ducking down low for some time.
It’s at this point the owner says the burglar somehow accessed the safe and the register, stealing two weeks’ worth of tips from employees.
“We definitely have our suspicions on who we think it is. Where you take a look at the footage, it kind of tells a very specific story,” Bud said.
“They knew exactly where they were going, they knew where the safe was, they knew where we kept the secret key for the cash register in case of an emergencies,” Bud added. “A lot of their tips -- a lot of the money that they count on to pay their bills, to pay their rent.”
Another clip shows the thief exiting the business, leaving in an unknown direction.
The locally grown store has been serving the community for close to five years and this setback has certainly violated their sense of trust this business has built up.
“That somebody would come and have the audacity to take that away from them for whatever their own sick interest is -- it’s terrible,” Bud said.
Despite the loss of money, Bud is making it clear to his employees that he has their back.
“I made it very clear to my team that regardless of this happening, I’m not going to let them hurt for anything. I’m going into my pocket to make sure that they are whole,” Bud said.
The restaurant owner now hopes police will be able to catch the culprit.
He says he is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.