SW Portland grocery repairs after 13th break-in since pandemic, owner says crime unacceptable

Published: Jan. 28, 2023 at 10:20 PM PST

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Yousif Jabbary is fed up with break-ins at his store, Park Avenue Market, in southwest Portland.

“It’s feeling bad,” he said.

He got a call around 5 a.m. Saturday saying someone broke in through a window again, leaving quite the mess behind.

The suspect was caught on camera. The footage shows a man popping through the broken glass and taking several vapes they sell.

Jabbary said the store deals with thefts weekly and have had more than a dozen break-ins since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This is number 13,” he said. “The one window next to it was a couple weeks ago before that. A month ago, same thing. Somebody robbed the business, jumped behind the counter.”

He said owning a business in the city is becoming exhausting and he’s considering ending his 13-year run in southwest Portland.

“I don’t know if we stay in business over here,” Jabbary said. “If this keeps going like that, we’ll just shut down and go somewhere else. Somebody has to be responsible for what’s going on. This isn’t acceptable.”

Jabbary said replacing the windows can cost thousands of dollars each time and he said he wishes city leaders did more to prevent crime like this.

The Portland Police Bureau is investigating this case.