Small business owner shuts down her store in Chicago after $30,000 burglary and anti-Asian ‘harassment’

March 24, 2022

A small business owner in Chicago has made the decision to permanently close her shop after a recent burglary and constant harassment.

Jessica Nguyen, the owner of Jessica’s Boutique, located in Chicago’s West Beverly neighborhood, recently fell victim to a robbery that caused her to lose over $30,000.

According to police, the unidentified thief broke into the store on March 19 at around 3:15 a.m. Some of the stolen items included designer sunglasses, clothes and purses.

Nguyen’s husband, Loren Watkins, told CBS Chicago that the thief was able to remain in the store for about 15 minutes due to the alarm system not working. Watkins said that the thief was walking around the store as if he was “in the park or something.”

The store owner also added that another reason she decided to close the store was due to the constant harassment that she had been receiving as an Asian since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

“I’ve gotten a lot of harassment,” Nguyen said. “I felt very sad because this area is a very good area.”

Nguyen is now hoping to sell all of her store’s products by the end of the year and to recreate the space into something different.

Chicago police said that they have not yet caught the suspect and will release the suspect’s image through a community alert once they have more information.

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