ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jacob Elliot was on a flight when he was told his restaurant, The Farmacy on Central, was broken into, forcing them to remain closed.

“Sunday brunch was our busiest day, especially on a holiday weekend, “ Elliot said about the break in.

The Farmacy wasn’t the only business broken into.

“This past Friday night, around 11 p.m. my staff heard a loud crash in a bang, and someone in the alleyway had thrown a brick through the window,” said Urban Hotdog owner Matthew Bernabe.

Just up the road, Urban Hotdog in Nob Hill had a window smashed, and Bernabe said both of his locations were hit that night.

“Then at 3:20 a.m. the alarm starts going off here, and someone had broken into the restaurant, stolen the safe, and got out of here in about five minutes or so,” Bernabe said about the Cottonwood break in.

This suspect suctioned off a window to get in, even putting the glass back on when he left.

Bernabe turned to the city’s Window to Opportunity Grant, which launched in August 2024 to help businesses recover from vandalism.

“We went to go look it up and saw it wasn’t available anymore, which, of course, was unfortunate. But, you know, we were never expecting that to begin with,” he said.
 
Frankie Hermosillo with the city’s Economic Development Department said funding ran out Dec. 31. Before then, 87 businesses were helped by the grant. She’s hoping they can bring the program back soon.

“Of course, that would depend on the availability of the funding and where that would come from. But you know, we remain committed to exploring opportunities to support small businesses,” Hermosillo said.

Despite the crime-filled weekend, both owners said they’ll always reopen.

“We love this location. I like, I really love being along Central. We have some great businesses,” Elliot said.

The Window to Opportunity Grant was funded by the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department.

Police did arrest Jason Rojas for the break in at The Farmacy. They’re still looking for the other two suspects that broke into the Urban Hotdog locations.

You can help these businesses here.