Decatur tea shop going ‘cashless’ after recent string of burglaries

Joi Dukes
·2 min read

DECATUR, Ga. - If you’ve ever had a cup of tea, you know the feeling of tranquility that comes with each sip.

Rebel Tea House owner Christine Nguyen said it’s been difficult to find that feeling in the days since her shop and two others on East Ponce De Leon Avenue in downtown Decatur were burglarized.

"It’s supposed to be a really safe feeling," she told FOX 5.

Decatur police said thieves broke into her business just before 5:30 on Saturday morning.

"It was exactly 5:25 a.m. whenever I got the notification … Unfortunately, we missed the culprits," Nguyen recalled. "It’s frustrating because that same night that American Deli and our shop were hit, Dairy Queen was also hit."

Surveillance video from the tea shop shows two men in hoodies getting in and out in under two minutes. They got away with $500 in cash.

"What we were left with was a bunch of broken glass as well as an open safe," Nguyen told FOX 5.

She said it’s not the first time she’s heard of break-ins in the area.

"American Deli got broken into last year, American Deli got broken into again this time … you know, they had hit several other shops around eight months ago," she said.

It’s unclear whether those cases were related.

While the business estimates a $1,000 to $2,000 loss between damages and insurance costs, Nguyen said she was grateful her staff wasn’t there that morning.

"Sometimes we do have events where we have staff coming in at that time to prepare … the safety of the staff is the priority," she said.

They’re hoping a new "no cash" policy will lessen the likelihood of any future break-ins.

"We tried to be a business that accepts all types of tender, but through this experience, it was really difficult to weigh the pros and cons … Hopefully, our patrons will understand that it’s for security measures and so it doesn’t put any of our staff at risk," Nguyen explained.

Decatur police are using that surveillance video as part of the investigation. If you have any information, reach out to detectives or Crime Stoppers.