A San Francisco business owner said his establishment was broken into for the fourth time on Wednesday. It's the most recent incident despite city officials stating crime is dropping in the city.
Kevin Lieu, owner of Gai Chicken and Rice, said he is an expert in glass prices because of how many times his establishment's windows have been shattered. The most recent robbery, he said, will cost him a few thousand dollars.
"In no way did I ever think I would be an expert in the quality of glass, how many protective layers there are," he said. "These are things I had to learn through unfortunate events."
In a surveillance video, someone breaks into Gai Chicken and Rice in the city's Castro neighborhood before looking around. The person stays in Lieu's establishment for 25 seconds before leaving.
In addition to the four break-ins, Lieu said his establishment had been damaged four other times.
Lieu is not the only business owner who said their establishment has fallen victim to repeated crime.
The owner of Hamburger Haven in the Richmond neighborhood said his business had been hit four times in the past three years. Last week, people broke in and stole the business's vintage cash register.
Local
Market Street Bikes has also fallen victim.
Earlier in the month, someone doing donuts in the middle of Market Street lost control of their car and staggered into the establishment. In a prior incident, suspects swapped open the establishment's security gate to steal bikes.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Over the past few months, Mayor London Breed and San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott have been touting a significant drop in crime. Overall, crime is down by about a third compared to last year.
Despite those numbers, Lieu said his experience is different.
"The numbers might be showing something different. But we can only speak from our own experience," Lieu said. "And, you know the stats here are four times this year. And it's rough, it's hard to deal with."
