Five years of delivering papers, saving money and slowing fixing up a run-down building has all disappeared overnight.
A St. Petersburg family who had scrimped and saved to open a restaurant were burglarized weeks away from their grand opening.
“We came inside and everything was gone,” said Lashoy Lambert. “Everything that we had worked so hard for, just gone.”
Lashoy and her husband, Aris, were set to open up a burrito restaurant named L & A Creations on May 5., but when they walked into the building at 1035 S. Martin Luther King Jr. St. on Thursday morning, all their kitchen equipment was gone.
“You work so hard for everything you got and then, it’s just gone in one day,” said Aris Lambert.
The couple hoped to run the business with their three children. The family put $30,000 into the restaurant, which was everything they have.
They also say they wanted to help their community, and that the neighborhood was excited about a new restaurant.
“Everybody keeps asking me, 'Are you really gonna open soon? When can we got the burritos?' " Lashoy said. "It would help this community to share a family-owned and operated business with them."
The thief got away with several pieces of equipment, including a bread presser, rice cooker, funnel cake maker, pots and pans and even the cash register.
He did leave behind some evidence. Police are checking a soda bottle left behind for fingerprints.
As for the Lamberts, they aren’t giving up on the restaurant. They plan to keep working their paper route, saving money and will try again.