A store in Argyle that was burglarized just recently opened its doors to the public. Now, workers at Design and Grace say they felt violated by this break-in.
“You feel like you’ve been violated somewhat because it’s personal to watch these people in the space I’ve built come in and destroying things and taking things from us,” Design and Grace warehouse manager Brian Bartlett said. “It’s upsetting.”
Bartlett described that feeling after watching the video of two people breaking into the store.
Design and Grace is a European kitchen store that’s been around for 20 years. They just recently reopened the storefront.
“People started coming into the warehouse looking for things,” Bartlett said. “So, we decided to open the storefront again. We did a soft opening just before Christmas. I guess that’s part of getting your name out there is that not only the people you want to be in the store, it’s the people you don’t want.”
Early Tuesday morning, January 27, during the winter storm, Bartlett said what he believes is a man and a woman broke in the front door. They stole two high-end Jura coffee machine displays, another brand-new one still in the box, and expensive Wüsthof knives.
He estimates their loss to be about $15,000, but knows it could have been worse.
“The boxes here for the displays were stacked up,” Bartlett said. “So, when they took them, they got some empty boxes. They didn’t wipe us out completely. They could have taken, spent more time, and taken a lot more stuff. But they didn’t. I think they were opportunistic. They just broke in and took a few things and ran.”
That doesn’t ease the pain of being targeted.
“It hurts because we are a small team and we’ve all worked very hard to build this up and make something nice,” Barlett said.
He added they are in the process of upgrading their security, and all surrounding businesses are now on alert and on the lookout.
Great Job Vince Sims & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth for sharing this story.
