J Korean restaurant burglary has dealt another blow to the Los Angeles Koreatown eatery after its owner endured the COVID-19 pandemic and a devastating fire before reopening the business less than a year ago.
Ju said an alert from the restaurant’s remote security system went off at the time, but he initially saw no apparent problem.
“The system had malfunctioned from time to time, so I went back to sleep,” Ju said. “Then this happened.”
Employees arriving for work at around 9 a.m. discovered that the glass in the restaurant’s entrance door had been shattered.
Security camera footage showed a suspect breaking the glass with a brick and entering the restaurant. The man, who did not cover his face, searched through the counter area before taking cash and fleeing.
J Korean restaurant said it was still calculating the exact amount stolen. The missing cash included sales proceeds that had been kept at the restaurant from Aug. 17 through Aug. 19.
Ju did not separately report the burglary to police.
He said police responses to similar incidents in the past had been inadequate, leading him to decide to handle the loss through his insurance company instead.
J Korean Restaurant Burglary Adds to Years of Setbacks
The latest break-in is not the first major setback Ju has faced while running a restaurant in Koreatown.
In November 2022, when he operated the business under the name Donghae Makguksu, the restaurant was damaged in a fire suspected to have been deliberately set.
Ju later changed the restaurant’s name to J Korean restaurant and resumed operations. The restaurant has been officially open for less than a year since reopening.
“With the losses continuing, all I can think about now is wanting to quit,” Ju said. “I survived the pandemic and endured the fire, and after struggling to reopen the restaurant, something like this happened again. It is upsetting.”
He also urged other Korean American small-business owners to pay close attention to security so they can avoid suffering similar losses.
Restaurant Considers Security Shutters
The J Korean restaurant burglary has also prompted the business to consider additional security measures.
Given concerns about public safety in Koreatown, J Korean restaurant is considering installing a security shutter over its entrance to better protect the business from future break-ins.
