Gabe's restaurant owner shares how recent break-in has affected business

MADISON HEIGHTS, Va. (WSET) -- Gabe's restaurant owner shares how the business has been affected after the restaurant was broken in to on Saturday morning.

The owner of Gabe's in Madison Heights says the thief got away with money and hamburger meat when he broke in on Saturday, July 27 around 1:00 a.m.

John Smith, the owner of Gabe's, says he woke up to an alert that someone was robbing his restaurant early Saturday morning.

"Roughly around 3:30 in the morning, I got an alarm on my phone that an intruder was in the building," said Smith.

Smith says he couldn't believe what he saw on the camera.

"I actually saw someone with what looked like a hoody. I was stunned for a moment," said Smith.

Smith says the suspect broke into the restaurant and was seen by several cameras throughout including one by the cash register and one in the kitchen.

When the suspect broke in, Smith says the suspect disabled the cameras, stole money and stole Smith's two best selling types of meat.

"It was a little less than $200 they took out of the register," said Smith. "Ground beef, pulled pork those are my two best sellers."

Smith is still unsure about how much meat the suspect took but Smith says he will be forced to close in the meantime.

"That really hurts, especially being a new business just opened four or five months," said Smith. "We couldn't afford to take that hit."

Gabe's owner says he doesn't understand why someone would steal from him.

"All we were trying to do is here at Gabe's is provide good home-cooked meals," said Smith. "This person has taken all that away from me and they didn't have to do it. If they were hungry, I would have fed them."

The restaurant won't be opening until Smith gets a new cash register and some additional security items. He urges anyone with information to contact local authorities.

Amherst County Sheriff's Office says they will provide an update later this week.