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Portland business owners voice concerns over repeated break-ins


David Straub, the owner at Premo’s Toys, says his store has been broken into four times since he opened over the summer. (Courtesy{ }David Straub){ }
David Straub, the owner at Premo’s Toys, says his store has been broken into four times since he opened over the summer. (Courtesy David Straub)
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David Straub opened Premo's Toys in Portland's Pearl District over the summer. But Straub said the tourist hot spot is not enough to deter crime.

“There’s just not enough resources out there to have the city as clean as it used to look and it seems like we’re going more in the wrong direction than the right direction," he said.

Straub said he's witnessed four break-ins since opening in June, and is constantly fixing damage while still trying to grow his business.

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“I’ve been spending a couple random nights staying the night at the store just in case something happens. It’s a little bit of a lot of restless nights but this is my baby. I left a good job to start my dream and there’s people out there, unfortunately, trying to tear that dream away from me," he said.

The owner at Clyde Common said it's not unusual to pay a thousand dollars out of pocket to fix a broken window. Still, Nate Tilden said he was surprised to find damage across the restaurant in the last few weeks.

“They destroyed the front door, got in, went to the register where our cash would normally be. Of course, there’s no cash in the register, so they destroyed the register. They actually really put a lot of effort into it. It is in pieces. Then they broke all of our glassware," Tilden said.

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Straub said he plans to invest in more tools, like better locks and cameras. Tilden tells KATU News he's also seeing more challenges in crime in North and East Portland.

“We want to feed people and employ our folks and do good things for our community. So, they’re throwing curve balls at us and it is what it is. I can’t be angry about it or depressed about it, it’s just what we do now," he said.

KATU News reached out to Mayor Wheeler, city commissioners, and Portland Police to ask how they plan to combat this moving forward. We're still waiting to hear back at this time.

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