Caught on camera: Another Waldo business break-in just 2 months after grand opening

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Labor Day morning brought an unpleasant sight for Joe Giammanco. Just two months after opening City Barrel Pizza + Patio at 120 E. Gregory Blvd. in Kansas City’s Waldo neighborhood with his business partner, James Stutsman, someone had broken through a large pane of glass in an attempt to burglarize the place.

After nine months of permitting hold-ups and 18-hour days when they first opened, they were finally getting into a rhythm. Now this.

“Nothing that a little wood can’t fix, but also, it does make you a little tentative now,” Giammanco said Monday afternoon.

IN-AND-OUT IN A FLASH

He showed KCTV5 surveillance video of the break-in recorded on 15 cameras from the moment the two would-be thieves walked through the parking lot at 3:06 a.m. to the time they walked out empty-handed at 3:08 a.m.

The two men — wearing hoodies, masks and gloves that cover nearly every inch of skin — walked across the parking lot casually and broke the glass door with ease. They seemed to have a special tool. They walked behind the fully stocked bar, past the cash and into the kitchen. They walked to the right, where they hit a dead end at the dishwashing machine, then in the other direction, landing on the dry storage room.

They could be seen with flashlights looking high and low. The men left when the audible motion sensor alarm went off two minutes after they entered.

Giammanco’s sense of humor about the challenges of the business crept in as he narrated the video.

“It looked like this was just another day at the office for them. It’s pretty upsetting to know that they’re so efficient with this,” he said. “But by the same token, if you’re going to do something, I guess do it well.”

Giammanco is certain they were looking for a safe. The craft beer and food spot doesn’t have one, at least not in practice. After a neighboring business was broken into at least three times this year, he had just bought a safe. It arrived Sunday, but he’d heard about burglars taking entire safes, so it was in a box. His policy is to not keep any cash on the premises overnight. Hardly any sales these days are cash.

“We had a deposit for like $16 the other day,” Giammanco remarked. “Everything is paid with credit cards now. It doesn’t make sense to me to cause so much damage, to do something so risky, for such a low payoff.”

SERIES OF BREAK-INS

All summer long, business owners in Waldo and neighboring Brookside have been dealing with an unusual number of break-ins. Some have been hit more than once. Residents expressed outrage about car thefts on the rise. Last week, a Brookside area restaurant owner was shot and killed during the dinner hour when he confronted a group of teens trying to steal his car.

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It’s something Giammanco thought about when he was notified by his alarm company shortly after 3 a.m. Monday. He lives nearby his business but did not drive over to check on the damage until he received notification that police had arrived at about 7 a.m.

“People aren’t predictable, and honestly, KD can handle it,” he said.

He was not critical of the response time, aware that police had numerous more pressing calls.

DISAPPOINTED BUT NOT DETERRED

City Barrel Pizza + Patio is the second location for Giammanco and his business partner after they founded City Barrel Brewery + Kitchen in the East Crossroads. They were already planning to be closed for Labor Day, so the overnight break-in did not interrupt business. They’ll be back open Tuesday.

“It won’t stop us from pumping great pizzas out of the oven, new sand-os we’ve got going and pouring cold beers,” Giammanco said. “We’re still here for the community. Waldo is still a safe neighborhood. It’s just we’re going through some tough times right now.”

He’s decided to treat the wood now covering the door frame like a cast for customers to sign as they each other through a difficult time that he hopes will be temporary.

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