CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Thieves targeted two South End businesses overnight in a smash and grab.

The break-ins happened around 1:30 Thursday morning at Flower Child and Futo Buta.

“Rough start to the morning,” said Rachel Hooker, Flower Child manager.

Futo Buta’s surveillance footage shows the crooks using a hammer to smash their glass door numerous times before gaining entry. It’s not the first time the business suffered a break-in. The restaurant suffered a break-in in February 2021.

“On the security footage, you can see they kind of go right through the restaurant,” said General Manager Sergio Granados. “They go straight to where they would think the cash registers at, and they kind of rummage through the kitchen a little bit.”

The two businesses are just across the rain trail from one another.

“We have some footage of them crawling on all fours to get to the registers, and then they used scissors or plyers to cut our registers open to take the drawers out,” Hooker said.

But it was all for naught. Both businesses say they don’t leave cash around overnight. The thieves ditched those cash registers less than a block away. All this duo accomplished was making the workers feel uneasy.

Hooker said, “We’ve been broken into before, but it’s scary. It’s uncomfortable.”

“It feels weird having someone in your place of business kind of violating your space,” Granados said.

It’s an unfortunate reminder that while the holidays bring out the best in some, they can also bring out the worst in others.

“It’s that time of year, I suppose,” Granados said. “I’ve been told by the cops that it’s a time when people are, you know, in need and doing things that maybe they should necessarily be doing.”

CMPD was out at both businesses dusting for fingerprints. The silver lining is both businesses were able to open today, and customers have been showing their support.