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Popular Chicago Cubs bar becomes latest burglary target

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The beloved Wrigleyville tavern Nisei Lounge became the most recent target in a series of bar and restaurant break-ins after a person removed a window and ransacked the bar early on Friday morning, tavern management said.

Pat Odon, Nisei Lounge’s director of beer and baseball operations, said someone removed a pane of glass, took cash and “totally tossed the back area looking for money and valuables” around 7 a.m. Friday.

The bar was closed and no employees were on the premises at the time, staff and management said.

The bar, an iconic hangout for Cubs fans at 3439 N. Sheffield Ave., has started keeping less cash on hand and leaving its cash registers open in what Odon said was a response to a string of restaurant and bar burglaries throughout the summer.

A bar near Odon’s home was robbed last week in the early morning hours, he said. Earlier this month, a string of break-ins, including one at an open establishment, made the rounds on group messages among bartenders and bar managers.

“All summer it’s been a once or twice a week drumbeat of ‘Did you hear? We got hit; so-and-so got hit,’ ” Odon said.

Bartender Val Capone said she closed up Thursday evening, putting bar stools on the tables by the window as she’d done for years and leaving cash registers out and empty to deter trouble.

She woke up to a phone full of messages about the break-in.

“I actually closed a little early because I felt unsafe because there have been so many things,” she said. “We’d heard about other bars in the neighborhood getting smash-and-grabs.”

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Capone said the break-in left her shaken.

“I don’t like being right,” she said. “It’s such an unnerving feeling. It’s like my house got broken into.”

Odon said there could have been even more damage without the recently implemented precautions.

“If it hadn’t been for recent media coverage of all the restaurant and bar burglaries this would have been way worse,” he said.

Bar staff had already slashed the amount of cash on hand by two-thirds, Odon said. Now they will likely reduce it even more.

“There’s going to be even less cash on hand and when we run out we’ll tell people to use cards,” Odon said.

Odon said the Nisei Lounge will need to replace the window, upgrade its burglary alarms and cameras and assess the damage in the bar itself.

Odon said the cost of repairs would not be cheap but that he’d fielded many inquiries from concerned neighbors and patrons.

“There’s been a gratifying amount of people asking if the bar is OK,” he said.

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The window is already boarded up, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The bar opened at 1 p.m. Friday “out of principle,” Odon said.

A Chicago Police Department spokesperson said officers had been at the scene Friday morning but that the department could not provide details of their response.





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