Bellevue restaurant remains open after being broken into, trailer stolen

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A break-in at a Bellevue restaurant has left employees in shock. The burglars not only stole money, but they also caused damage to large equipment and their security system, The owners also said their food trailer was gone.

Tracks can still be seen from where someone dragged off the restaurant’s trailer. Now, employees are struggling after losing thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

On Saturday morning, Desmon Tanner, the operation manager of “It’z A Philly Thing” a restaurant in Bellevue, unlocked the doors to set up for business, but something was different.

“I came in at about 10 o’clock and I saw that the back door was wide open and from there you could see that the cash drawer was also ripped out,” said Tanner.

According to the restaurant, around 3:20 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., they were broken into.

Someone pried open the back door, broke into the register, grabbed two iPads, and rummaged through the restaurant. The restaurant added that Coca-Cola soda was poured all around the store to try and erase the fingerprints.

“I went to the shed and I noticed the lock was off the shed so that made me think about the food trailer. And when I came to see, I saw that it was gone,” said Tanner.

The restaurant used the trailer to help serve food at events, but it was unplugged and dragged away with tracks lining their parking lot as evidenced.

“I was upset,” said Tanner. “I was really made and I was definitely upset. I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t believe they took the whole trailer.

When Tanner ran to check the security footage, he found the cameras flipped up and wires cut. All they had was a still image.

After calling 9-1-1, Tanner still opened up shop.

“I overheard that their trailer apparently had been stolen and the place had been robbed overnight,” said loyal customer Brian Mansfield.

While fighting through the technical issues because of the clipped wires, Mansfield watched as employees served dozens of people.

“I hate to hear that for these guys because this is not the first time something like that has happened to them, they’ve been broken into at least one other time and they’ve only been around a couple of years,” Mansfield said.

Restaurant owners said this wasn’t the first time the restaurant was broken into. The first time happened in 2021, but the owners said things seem to be getting worse.

“This kills us because we get money from the trailer and the store as well, so this is like a big percentage of our money just gone,” explained Tanner.

But Tanner said they won’t be giving up anytime soon.

“We’ll probably just up the security and make sure everything is more secure, but no, we aren’t going anywhere. We aren’t going to leave,” said Tanner.

While the restaurant owners and employees pray police find their trailer, they plan on staying open every day and serving as many people as possible.

If anyone has seen the food trailer or any information that could help us please contact 267-324-2728 or the Metro Nashville Police Department.

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