‘Disturbing and senseless': Toy Boat café hit by third break-in - SF Gate

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The sidewalk in front of Toy Boat café bustled with activity Sunday as shoppers lugged bags of produce from the Clement Street Farmers Market and idly chatted over sips of their morning coffee on the bench outside. 

But the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in the window of the longstanding ice cream shop appeared a little more lonely than usual.

The Inner Richmond institution was burglarized early Wednesday morning, the latest in a string of attempted break-ins and other property damage that have blighted the small business in the past year. An individual claiming to be a repairman stole three to four dozen vintage toys lining Toy Boat’s windows last October, just after it had reopened under new ownership as Toy Boat by Jane. Two months later, a general manager of the ice cream shop showed up at work to discover that the front door had been kicked in and the glass was smashed to bits, totaling approximately $9,200 in damages. 

This time, the suspect made off with an estimated 16-18 toys, said proprietor Amanda Michael when reached by phone on Sunday afternoon.

"My staff showed up at 7 a.m., and the first thing they noticed was glass all over the floor. They called me to explain what happened, and my heart just sank," she said. 

The shattered glass in the storefront window. 

Courtesy of Toy Boat Dessert Café/Instagram

While Michael noted the toys weren't particularly valuable from a financial standpoint, she said it's the sentimental value of the loss — not to mention the persistent nature of the thefts — that upset her most. 

"It's so frustrating, I don't know whether to laugh or cry," she said. "When you're running a business in San Francisco, you get used to shoplifting or the occasional act of vandalism. But this was disturbing and senseless, and I would be very surprised if it was a coincidence. It's just a little bit creepier because it feels targeted."

Michael said the individual used a BB gun to shoot through one of the square upper windows of the storefront, nearly shattering it altogether, before climbing up a ladder and punching a hole through another window so they could reach in and take the shop's beloved memorabilia, some of which had been donated from customers following the previous theft in October.

The incident occurred just after 1:15 a.m., according to security camera footage. 

“They stole our big Godzilla, which was one of our best toys here, and a bunch of other little trinkets,” said employee Shaye Hesford, who also worked for the shop when it was run by former proprietor Jesse Fink. “It’s just sad. Why toys, you know? I think people think it’s easier to steal from a local family-owned business because they don’t know if there’s cameras here. It’s more of a sly kind of theft, and it’s hard to trace back.” 

Michael added the windows were replaced on the same day of the incident, costing $1,500 to install. 

"Moving forward, I don’t know what else we can do. I don’t want to run a business with bars on the windows," she said. "But we’re definitely not replacing those toys — I don't want the same thing to happen again. It’s disruptive to the staff and it’s unsettling to everyone."

However, she doesn't want the theft to overshadow a recent milestone for the ice cream shop. On Friday, Toy Boat celebrated 39 years in business and handed out free ice cream to commemorate the occasion. 

"We still plan to continue forging ahead," she said. "One scoop at a time."

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‘Disturbing and senseless': Toy Boat café hit by third break-in - SF Gate
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