Xicote And Other Businesses in Downtown WC Vandalized

WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA — A string of early morning smash-and-grab burglaries has left a stretch of downtown Walnut Creek boarded up, with Mexican restaurant Xicote and several neighboring businesses now facing thousands of dollars in repairs.

Smash-and-grab spree hits Bonanza and Locust streets

According to multiple news reports, at least five businesses along Bonanza and Locust streets were hit around 4 a.m. in what appears to have been a coordinated operation targeting restaurants and salons in a tight cluster of downtown Walnut Creek.

Walnut Creek police told reporters that the suspects shattered glass storefronts, grabbed what they could, and moved quickly from business to business. By later that week, plywood covered many of the broken windows, giving one of the city’s busiest dining corridors an abruptly shuttered look.

The Bay Area Telegraph stopped by and confirmed this directly.

In coverage from KTVU and CBS Bay Area, business owners said surveillance video shows a group of about five people arriving in two vehicles, smashing their way in, and rifling through cash drawers and shelves before taking off again into the night.

Xicote appears to be among the damaged storefronts

Xicote Cocina Mexicana, a family-owned spot at 1518 Bonanza Street that serves modern Mexican dishes in a cozy dining room just off North Main, sits right in the middle of the block that was hit.

We stopped by and noticed a boarded up front window.

Read Next:
If you are following downtown safety and crime trends, we have deeper looks at recent East Bay incidents, including locals raising funds for Lafayette’s Panache Cafe after a six-man robbery crew struck while the owner hid inside, our report on two suspects arrested after an alleged carjacking and armed robbery spree that ended in Walnut Creek, and a look at how neighbors responded after a Walnut Creek home burglary where police asked for the community’s help.