Austin, TX
Thieves stealing food trucks in Central Texas on the rise
AUSTIN, Texas – It’s a criminal offense wave that’s on the rise within the Austin space, brazen bandits stealing trailers from individuals’s properties. A few of these thieves are making off with meals vehicles, leaving native enterprise house owners in a troublesome spot.
“Oh, I imply I used to be tremendous harm,” mentioned Ryan Palmer, co-owner of Gourdough’s Donuts.
South Austin-based Gourdough’s Donuts mentioned somebody stole their Airstream Trailer in Bastrop County, both Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
“I feel they only picked the opportune time to do it,” mentioned Palmer.
It was parked exterior a steel storage barn alongside Freeway 21 in Cedar Creek. The thief hauled off a Kubota trailer from contained in the barn as effectively.
“I’m shocked as a result of it’s on a well-traveled freeway. It was seen from the freeway,” mentioned Palmer.
The stolen truck has put a serious kink in Palmer’s marketing strategy.
“We just lately closed our restaurant. It was on South Lamar for the final 10 years, and we had been going to return to our roots and open two new areas—one south and one north—and this was one of many vehicles we had been going to open up in January. So it’s an enormous setback,” mentioned Palmer.
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The worst half, Palmer’s insurance coverage had lapsed, so it might price him as much as $50,000 to switch the trailer.
“We’re simply asking everybody to maintain their eyes and ears open and possibly any person will see it,” mentioned Palmer.
In the meantime, in North Austin, a bit of fine information. Trinh Nguyen, the proprietor of Le Bleu has her meals truck again, after it was stolen final month.
“I don’t know what they’re pondering, however possibly as a result of it’s straightforward for them to focus on a meals truck,” mentioned Nguyen.
The Saigon le Vendeur trailer was hauled off by a stolen pickup truck. Surveillance video captured the pickup, and the suspect shoplifting at a close-by retailer. A very good Samaritan seen the trailer close to the Travis County Expo Heart, and 43-year-old Justin Williams, is now behind bars charged with theft of property and prison mischief.
“It’s a reduction, an enormous reduction, as a result of we discovered our property again. It’s not one thing that you simply—at the back of my thoughts I by no means thought I’d see the trailer once more,” mentioned Nguyen.
Fortunately, it’s nonetheless intact, other than a damaged lock and a sloppy new paint job.
“I’d admire in the event that they did a greater job,” mentioned Nguyen.
Again at Gourdough’s, the South 1st Avenue truck continues to be serving up donuts, however Palmer is hoping whoever stole the opposite trailer can have a change of coronary heart.
“I’d simply hope that they’d simply depart it someplace, so I can discover it and serve donuts and make use of individuals in Austin,” mentioned Palmer.
If in case you have any data on the stolen Gourdough’s truck, you’re urged to contact the Bastrop County Sheriff’s workplace. Gourdough’s is providing a money reward to anybody who is ready to assist them get the truck again.