Bellflower taqueria hit by thieves twice within first month, face $10,000 repair bill

Bellflower taco shop hit by thieves twice within first month, face $10,000 repair bill

A new taqueria in Bellflower has been targeted by thieves twice, forcing the small business to enact expensive security measures to protect the restaurant.

BELLFLOWER, Calif. - A new taqueria in Bellflower has been targeted by thieves twice, forcing the small business to enact expensive security measures to protect the restaurant.

Tacos la Rueda opened one month ago on March 17. The first burglary happened in the early morning hours on March 27. Surveillance video showed two thieves breaking into the store and looking around, but the owner, Alan Cejudo, said that time, the thieves did not take anything.

The second burglary happened on Monday, April 17.

Tacos La Rueda burglary 3/27/23

The Bellflower taqueria was burglarized on March 27, then again on April 17. It's unknown at this time if the perpetrators are the same in both incidents.

"The second time they opened the safe with a hammer so they took some money from there and then the tips from the employees and [it cost money] then to replace the door," said Cejudo.

Cejudo said he's unsure if the burglaries are connected.

"It kind of looked like the same people but who knows. There's so much going on right now," said Cejudo.

Tacos La Rueda burglary 4/17/23

Surveillance video shows the Bellflower taqueria burglarized for the second time in a month.

Cejudo ordered a roll-up door after the first burglary, but it took a couple of weeks to build the doors. The doors were installed Tuesday following the second robbery.

"That that was the best solution I could do, so they won't come in. It's a lot of money we put in a business. It's so hard for us to do all this remodeling and a lot of work and what else could we do," said Cejudo. "It's a business. We gotta keep going. We have to produce. It's the American dream."

Cejudo said he has been dreaming about opening the restaurant since he was a child.

"It was a dream for me doing it since I was young, [using] mom and pop's recipes and here we are. With a lot of hard work, we got to do this beautiful restaurant," said Cejudo.

The two burglaries and the newly installed security measures cost the business more than $10,000.

"It's just getting crazier now for us business owners, but we gotta keep going," Cejudo said. "We gotta feed the community and take care of the employees for their families."

Cejudo is asking the community to come to their restaurant to help support them following the break ins.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating the case.