Man smashes window of Miami Beach business with table, days before it was set to close – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – New surveillance video shows a man busting a window of a Miami Beach restaurant over the weekend.

The crime occurred at PAUL Bakery in the 400 Block of Lincoln Road on Saturday night.

Surveillance video captured the vandal as he grabbed a table outside of the bakery and launched it at the business.

The business owner, Vladimir Alfa said he is in disbelief.

“Completely random. Out of nowhere,” he said. “It showed a not-so-nice gentleman being mad at something or himself just out of nowhere, coming out of the blue, literally just walking by, grabs a table and throw it at a window, and just walk away. You know, you’re hurting small business, you know you’re hurting people who depend on it.”

Alfa said the broken window is another issue he has to deal with as he wraps up his 17-year business on Miami Beach.

“And ever since COVID, we never came back,” he said.

Monday was his last day of business on the beach. Alfa provided various reasons as to why he was closing his doors.

“Insurance has doubled, labor cost has more than doubled, homelessness is rampant, half of the stores are closed unfortunately, and we’ve taken the decision to stop the bleeding,” he said.

He added that empty stores, construction, and other factors are forcing him to close and these kinds of crime, such as the man who busted his business window, doesn’t help either.

“We haven’t anything like that happen before in the 17 glorious years that we’ve had on the beach but unfortunately the beach is not what it used to be,” said Alfa.

Miami Beach Police are now looking for the man behind the smash-and-dash on the business.

If you have any information on this act of vandalism or the subject’s whereabouts, call Miami Beach Police at 305- 673-7900 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

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