One of the East Bay’s oldest diners is dealing with one of the Bay Area’s biggest problems – a destructive break-in. Jodi Hernandez reports.
One of the East Bay's oldest diners is dealing with one of the Bay Area's biggest problems, a destructive break-in.
The owners of the Giant Chef in Pleasant Hill said that three masked men broke into the iconic restaurant early Monday morning, stealing items and leaving a trail of damage behind.
The Giant Chef has some of its windows boarded up following the break-in. Despite the setback, the popular diner is open for business as it bounces back.
Waitress Janet Perez showed NBC Bay Area Tuesday where burglars broke their way into the restaurant. After smashing the windows, the thieves ultimately pried their way in through the front door.
“When I came in, the glass was on the floor,” she said.
The thieves stole the entire cash register before ransacking the back office, where they even tried breaking through a wall to get to some items.
“We are shaken up," Perez said. "It’s crazy I mean we’re afraid they might come back some time."
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“There’s some element of insecurity," said David Martinez, owner of the Giant Chef. "It's like do I have to be there all the time? Do I have to sleep there? Do I have to get a guard dog for a restaurant?"
Martinez said they're rattled. This is the second time in two years they've been targeted. But they say they owe it to their customers and staff to keep going.
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“A lot of our customers, they don't even cook at home anymore. This is their kitchen, basically," Martinez said.
On Tuesday, the kitchen was cranking like it has for nearly 70 years and the chefs were cooking up the diner's signature dish, chicken fried steak, along with all of their other customer favorites.
“It’s really good food, really good people and it’s like an iconic establishment and it’s just horrible what happened,” said customer Jaqueline Siotto.
A lot of folks came to the restaurant Tuesday just to show their support while others say they'd be there regardless.
“I’m almost 62 now and I started coming here when I was 19,” said customer Brian Low.
Customers want the owners to know they love the Giant Chef and feel bad about the break-in, offering comforting thoughts as they enjoyed their comfort food.
“There’s a lot of people supporting them, they care about them, they care about what happened,” said customer Marisela Howell.
Pleasant Hill police said they are looking through surveillance video and have some solid leads.
