Taylorsville restaurant grateful for community support after burglary
Jun 29, 2024, 8:10 AM | Updated: 8:20 am
TAYLORSVILLE — A family-owned restaurant expressed their thankfulness for how the community showed up for them one week after burglars broke in and cleaned out a good helping of food and some equipment.
Los Tapatios Taco Grill on 5400 South serves up sizzling flavors with menu items passed down through Alejandro Maya’s family.
Maya remembered his father making birria tacos for special occasions growing up, and it’s his passion to now make that same food for others.
“This is very important to me more than anything, because we started as a small business, and it was like we started it as a family,” he said.
Right now, every customer who walks through the front door means everything to Maya. He explained that the past couple of months have been slow.
“The sales just… they just crashed,” he said.
On top of an already challenging time, Maya described how last weekend someone broke in through the restaurant’s back door and made off with cash, electronics, and a ton of food.
Maya explained that the thieves stole tons of packages of tortillas, fruit, and about 30 pounds of meat.
He also found his surveillance camera unit disconnected and missing, and Maya said all the footage was stored there. That meant they had no evidence of who broke in.
“It’s more than anything like a safety concern as far as, like, why? Why us?” Maya questioned. “We’re a small business. Were we targeted? Is it somebody we know?”
Taylorsville Police said they are investigating the burglary, and while they have been able to pull surveillance footage from a nearby business, they’re still hoping for information and tips to help them solve the crime.
As police worked the case, Los Tapatios scrambled to replace what disappeared. Maya said the burglary was a huge setback.
However, upon hearing of the unfortunate situation, customers began to call and come into the restaurant to place orders of support. Some have even reached out about catering.
“The support has been amazing, honestly,” Maya expressed. “It’s honestly what’s kept us going. It just gives us more hope too, like we’re going to get by from this.”
On a difficult week, every person means everything as the small family business bounces back.
“The messages, the visits, the patronage, like all that,” Maya said. “It just means so much.”
