ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Showing up to open and finding broken windows and doors comes at a cost that small business owners would rather not deal with.

Jaclyn Gomez knows all about this. As the owner of ABQ Burrito since 2021, the break-ins started within the first six months of her taking over the business. The most recent break-in was during Fourth of July weekend.

“The weekend of Fourth of July, we were closed for a long weekend. And I went in on that Saturday or Sunday and my front windows and my door was shattered,” she said. “This isn’t the first time our building has been broken into. I mean, we have been broken into, I would say, probably three or four times before.”

Now, Gomez is the first business owner that the City of Albuquerque approved for their Window to Opportunity grant to help vandalized businesses. The program can reimburse up to $5,000 per business.

“Back in 2020, the City of Albuquerque did a grant program for windows in downtown when they experienced a ton of damage over a little short period of time. And so it was for the downtown people. Now it’s a whole within the city limits of Albuquerque,” said Frankie Hermosilla, the senior economic developer for the city.

Business owners can apply for the grant if they have experienced vandalism since July 1.

For Gomez, that was just in time.

“I happened to see that it was advertising. And then it went back all the way to starting July 1. I was like, ‘This happened Fourth of July weekend, okay, I qualify’,” she said.

Gomez says regardless of where the money is coming from, the $1,400 spent on the broken window is still coming out of someone’s pocket.

“It’s upsetting because we’re a small and local business. And when things like this happen, there’s still money coming out of our pocket, whether it’s paid for by a grant or insurance. There’s still added costs and people don’t get it,” she said.

So far, the city has paid for $163,448 in reimbursements through this program. Grant applications will be open until December or as long as funds are available. Click/tap here to learn more.