CHICAGO — A couple of Beverly business owners are speaking out after being struck by copper thieves who robbed them of something vital this time of year — air conditioning.
A quick fix for crooks became a nightmare for the two women, who say getting things back on track will likely cost them thousands of dollars.
Allison Papara runs Made Artisan Collaborative, a treasure trove of trinkets.
“You name it, we have it,” she said.
“We’ve lost income and revenue, and that’s for the artists, too,” Papara told WGN News. “It breaks my heart.”
Made Artisan Collaborative supports dozens of very creative people.
“Over 43 different artists all Chicago, Chicagoland and a good chunk are Beverly-specific,” Papara said.
Thieves targeted the AC units at the back of the building, significantly impacting income over the last three weeks.
“It’s easily upwards of $6,000,” Papara said. “We’ve had to close a lot. We are open on days that we can tolerate it … We’ve had to close a lot of days because there’s been a lot of 90-plus-degree days and it’s just unbearable.”
Possibly even more unbearable when trying to make ice cream next door. The theft also impacted Ohana Ice & Treats.
“Total with loss of income, loss of inventory, and then the replacement costs [came out to] well over $45,000,” said Keynn Cain, who, along with her husband, runs Ohana Ice & Treats.
The copper in their AC unit was snagged, too, on the same day.
The theft has left the store unable to operate, which is devastating to Keynn Cain, the 15 kids she employs and customers like Abigail Klinkerman, who keep showing up to cool off.
“It’s kind of disappointing,” Klinkerman said of the unfortunate store closure.
The hope is that things will be back up and running after a costly repair—in the thousands—by next week. Both businesses now have a separate GoFundMe — Made Artisan Collaborative and Ohana Ice & Treats — to help bridge the gap caused by revenue loss.