Are Thieves Targeting Brewsters Restaurants Across West Michigan?

This can't just be a coincidence. Just months after thieves broke into Brewsters Fine Food & Spirits on Portage Road, a second Brewster's location in Allegan County has now faced the same dilemma.

Owner Brad Wilcox says sometime between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, thieves broke in to the Brewsters Smokehouse in Otsego, MI and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. Wilcox told WWMT that in addition to the structure damage, Wilcox's business partner estimates nearly $10,000 worth of meat was left to spoil in the process.

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During the break-in the burglars cut power to the building, including the phone and internet cables, which caused the security cameras to no longer function. The thieves then smashed the glass front door and entered the building.

Wilcox found the doors of his two walk-in coolers ajar, having been left open all night despite nothing being taken from them. Says Wilcox, "If I’m going to get robbed, I’d rather get robbed. I don’t want somebody to come in and have a gallon of mayonnaise smeared all over my restaurant, because that is malicious."

Wilcox and his business partner believe the thieves targeted the Otsego Brewsters location after a similar incident at Brewsters in Portage where robbers broke into an ATM located within that restaurant and made out with nearly $2,700. However, there is no ATM at the Otsego location. This time around the robbers only got away with several hundred dollars of liquor bottles-- all that destruction, for nothing!

So far no arrests have been made in either robbery. The restaurant in Otsego was closed Sunday and Monday, but reopened to serve its customers on Tuesday of this week.

I was curious to know what happened because when I drove past Brewsters in Otsego on my way into work on Monday, I thought I noticed the front door all boarded up! Now I know why. Such disappointing news to hear that a local business has been targeted by criminals!