>> An Oakland business has been hit almost two dozen times by thieves, three times in just the past three weeks alone. The popular restaurant cleans up only to be broken into again over and over. >> Good evening. I'm Jana Katayama and I'm Christien Kafton. >> It's a story that has played out at businesses throughout Oakland and has some business owners thinking about getting out. >> Our crime reporter, Henry Lee is here now. After speaking to the manager about these repeated break ins, Henry. Yeah, Kristin and Janet. >> He's just about had it. He has customers to feed employees to pay, and not enough time in the day to call police and call for repair. He's wondering if he needs to call it all off. >> It's a lot of stress. It's frustration. Oswaldo Sanchez is fed up. >> He manages Agave Uptown restaurant in Oakland, which has been broken into three times in the past three weeks since it opened in 2016 at 22nd and Broadway. It's been burglarized 22 times. >> I have to, like, find a way to, like, get attention from you know, police department, governor, mayor, whoever it is, because they really need to stop this. >> At about 445 in the morning Thursday, this man forced the lock and went straight to the bar. He picked up a bottle of mezcal, which is alcohol made from the agave plant. He even took time to read the label. He left with just the bottle, but caused more damage to the door. The crime cars are just driving us, you know. >> Too crazy. >> Especially when it keeps happening over and over again. Last week, these guys first used a crowbar and then a longer pry tool to break in the restaurant again, had a pay to fix the door and on January 30th, several thieves broke in and ransacked the business. >> Like it or not, restaurants, businesses around. We're dying. Little by little. It's taking money, energy, stress, you know, sometimes it's like you just want to give up. And I'm here today because I want him to stay in Oakland. >> Oakland City Council member Noel Gayo says he and his family have dined at Agave many times. We need to do better to protect our businesses. And you know, at the end of the day, Henry, they're the ones that pay the taxes, employ our residents. And I got to keep this restaurant here. >> Customers say they want this business to survive, to. >> It does feel like something's changed. It does feel like there's more crime in the city. And it would be, um, totally advantageous for our city council and our police department to get together and work in a community oriented way . >> Now, the manager tells me he's woken up in the middle of the night wondering if he should check the surveillance cameras in real time in cases restaurant is being broken into yet again. Oakland police are investigating this incidents. Kristin. >> Yes. So stressful for that business owner and the manager there. Henry. Just wondering if he has any sense if this is the same people who are coming back over and over again, or if this is just random new people coming one after another? Yeah, we know that one lone guy from last week . >> Actually, yesterday, just by himself. Other groups not so sure if it's the same people, but he's for some reason it's a nice looking restaurant, so these criminals are probably just lured into thinking that, you know, they can
