GREELEY, Colo. — The owners of a Greeley clothing shop are working to move forward after their business was targeted by thieves twice this month.
Jennifer Ruiz, co-owner of 819 ProClub, said the latest incident happened Monday night, just over a week after the first break-in that occurred on Nov. 17.
The business, which is located on the 800 block of 20th Avenue, is known for selling streetwear brands like ProClub and K-Swiss.
Ruiz said it was always her and her husband's dream to bring a clothing store like this one to Greeley. Now, they're unsure if they'll be able to remain open after losing so much merchandise from the burglaries.
"We're all over the place. We hadn't even recovered from the first time. We're thinking we're going to close down this time. This time they took so much from us," Ruiz said.
Ruiz said during the first incident, the suspect(s) smashed through the large glass window and stole several items.
The second time, according to Ruiz, they broke the lock on the door and got away with even more clothing, shoes, cash and other items.
"I just don't think people realize how much goes into opening a business. I mean, every dollar counts when it's a small business like ours," Ruiz said.
The small business owner said they had previously opened a similar clothing store in the Greeley mall but had to shut down due to the effects the coronavirus pandemic had on the economy.
They decided to try again in a new location and had only been open for three months.
She's hoping the suspect(s) are brought to justice soon.
"I just want him to know how... how bad this is gonna affect us. We have children. We don't know what the holidays will look like this year," Ruiz said, while fighting back tears.
Greeley Police Department officials told Denver7 Tuesday this is the third commercial burglary in the same area that has occurred in the past two months.
Greeley PD could not confirm if the two incidents were connected, although the owners do think it's the same suspect(s) based on the descriptions on the surveillance video.
"It's been a tough year, I'm sure for everyone. We've worked so hard, we bring our kids here. They're so proud of their store. They call it their store. This is devastating for all of us," Ruiz said.
While the plan is to shut down for good, Ruiz said they're hopeful there's a way they'll be able to stay open.
She said the community can help by purchasing the rest of the items they have left or donating to a GoFundMe fundraiser they set up to help them recover their losses.
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