Waldo businesses broken into this week say damage outweighs what was taken

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories in Kansas City, Missouri, and stories offering solutions on crime. Share your story idea with La’Nita.

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Multiple businesses in Kansas City's Waldo neighborhood were broken into earlier this week. While the thief did not make off with much, the damage left behind was costly.

Eclectics Gallery Art Cooperative, which is celebrating 35 years in business, was among the businesses hit Tuesday morning.

"35 years, what's that 10 to 12,000 great days, and we had one bad morning," co-owner Laura Wesche said.

She said the thief left with just under $50, but not without leaving a mess.

Al Miller/KSHB 41

"Well, they didn't take any art," Wesche said. "We're guessing they weren't an art collector. So, went through not sure what they were looking for, but they didn't leave with much, just made a mess."

The break-in shattered the gallery's main door, which is as old as the building itself.

"The door is one of the features of our little spot here," Wesche said. "It's a cool old door, big, wide old door and glass front... Someone has already been in to give us an estimate, we don't have it back but it'll be expensive."

Just up the street, City Barrel was also hit that morning. General Manager James Arcano said the suspect searched the restaurant for a safe before grabbing the cash drawer.

Al Miller/KSHB 41

"And ended up just grabbing the cash drawer," he said. "There were $7 of quarters that were in the cash drawer, and they didn't even take all the quarters."

Photos obtained from the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department show the suspect entering and later leaving the restaurant.

Courtesy of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department

Business owners are now calling on the community to help them recover.

"Everybody wants to know, 'What can we do, what can we do?' And what you can do to support small businesses is to shop," Wesche said. "Keep them in your neighborhood. Because a hundred shoppers can give the funds to the small businesses so that they can withstand those setbacks."

The investigation remains ongoing and no one is in custody.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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