Patrick Reed, owner of the restaurant, said he first noticed a rock on the floor of the tavern this morning.
“I got to walking to the front of the restaurant and saw the glass on one side had been shattered,” he said. “And I walked to the other side and saw the glass also had been shattered.”
At first, Reed wondered if the restaurant had made a customer angry, but then he went outside and realized other businesses were also damaged.
“Turns out the other business owners were coming out on the street and saying they had been targeted,” he said. “All the way from Taco Bell all the way down the street, everybody had damage to their front windows.”
A trophy store, disc golf shop and electronics stop were among some of the businesses damaged.
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Reed said that a Dayton police officer told them that person responsible for the broken windows was involved in a shooting on Wayne Avenue.
“So this whole scenario is tied together somehow,” he added. “We don’t have any details on why or what happened with this guy.”
The damage makes an already difficult year for restaurant and small businesses owners even harder as they try stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The timing is just terrible,” Reed said. “We’re down to 50% seating, and now we’re down even lower.”
Most of the restaurants and shops in the area are small businesses, he said, making the price of replacing a window even costlier.
However, with loyal and supportive customers, he’s certain Angie’s Firehouse Tavern will survive.
“Our customers are very loyal,” Reed said. “They support us, especially when they see we’re struggling like this.”
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