‘I’m feeling very sad, very upset’: People’s Choice Kitchen owner tries to make sense of another burglary
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The owner of the People’s Choice Kitchen is trying to make sense of yet another break-in at her Brooks Avenue restaurant.
Evangela Stanley said she found ATM stolen, her door smashed, and broken glass on Thursday morning at her restaurant.
“I’m feeling very sad, very upset, this is unbelievable,” Stanley said.
Stanley was holding back tears as she spoke with News10NBC. She said this break-in shook her to the core.
“I get a call that my window was broken into, my door is destroyed and come to find out I come in and they stole my ATM.”
The People’s Choice Kitchen has been broken into a few times in the past five years. In 2022, a man plead guilty to attempted robbery after he tried to rob her restaurant at gunpoint in 2019.
“I’ve already shed some tears because it’s sad,” she said. “I’ve survived a couple of incidents already in the past, so to come in and see my restaurant victim again; victimized. It’s just sad, I don’t even know how much more I can take.”
Stanley has been committed to supporting her community whether it’s catering, feeding the homeless, or holding bike giveaways. She also gave out hundreds of Christmas presents, organized a memorial service for a woman who died in a fire in February, and catered the funeral of one of the victims who died in the concert stampede at the Main Street Armory.
Stanley has a sign on the door of her restaurant that says, “pay what you can afford”.
“I just love, love my community,” Stanley said. “I enjoy pouring back into our community. I don’t want to brag but anything I can do to help somebody, that’s what I want to do.”
As she fights back tears, she has just one wish moving forward. “I just wish the love would return for your community and your fellow brother and sister.”
Stanley said she already has an alarm system and security cameras. Nothing was taken from her register. She’s hoping police can find the people who did this and that justice is served.