CYPRESS, Texas — The owners of a small restaurant in Cypress are asking for the public's help in catching a pair of thieves who stole thousands of dollars in cash from their safe and caused extensive damage to their restaurant.
The crime was caught on surveillance video when it happened while it was still dark Wednesday morning at Sam's Seafood and Steak restaurant off Grant Road.
"If you get this pried open enough, and you know it's here, you can hit it open, and that's what they did," owner Eric Domingues said.
He said the burglary couldn't have come at a worse time.
"We just haven't been able to recover," Domingues said. "This is just another notch in the belt of things we're going to have to recover from."
Domingues said the restaurant has taken a hit from inflation with rising product costs and customers who stopped going out to eat as much when their wallets got thin. He and his sister bought the longtime restaurant two years ago when it went up for sale.
"Our top seller is our fried shrimp," Domingues said. "I'll put our fried shrimp up against anyone in the country."
Domingues' mom died from COVID during the pandemic. Sam's was her favorite and buying the restaurant was a tribute to her.
"You feel violated, you know?" Domingues said.
He has a feeling that whoever broke into the restaurant knew how to get in and right where to go to get the cash. Domingues said his employees are like family and he can not imagine who could have done it.
"Everything we do is and was for keeping the restaurant in the community and making sure that everybody that works here can make their bills," Domingues said. "In a time when it makes it increasingly hard for people to make their bills."
The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office is investigating.
