TUNKHANNOCK TOWNSHIP -- A popular restaurant in Wyoming County was burglarized over the weekend. The break-in was a failure, and now the owners are trying to do what they can to make sure it does not happen to any other businesses in the area.
The Fireplace Restaurant on Route 6 in Tunkhannock Township is preparing to host 500 people on Thanksgiving Day; so when owner Laura Yale woke up Sunday morning to a call from police that her beloved restaurant was broken into, it was personal.
"This is our home. This is our livelihood. This is our business. It's a violation of all my Fireplace family," Yale said.
The burglar broke the glass door with a rock and entered through the front, only to find there was no cash inside the register. He left with nothing, driving west on Route 6 with his flashers on in what police believe was a gray or silver sedan. Surveillance images show the burglar could be 40 to 50 years old with a gray mustache and goatee.
"I just want this person caught, not because of what he did to me, but because of the potential that he will do it again to someone else," Yale said.
Yale says what makes the break-in particularly bold is that the Pennsylvania State Police barracks is less than half a mile down the road from the Fireplace Restaurant. They were the ones who responded Sunday morning.
"I'm just grateful that no one was in the building. I would never want to see anyone get hurt. That's why I want to put the word out. If he was brazen enough to do it on busy Route 6, you don't want anyone getting hurt," she said.
The restaurant is only closed one day out of the entire year, and that's Christmas. Yale says this was not going to change that; so the front door has been replaced, and a new security system is being installed.
"You never know how much you are loved by your family, your friends, your community, until something happens to you like this. We are eternally grateful to everyone for the support," she said.
If you have any information, call Tunkhannock Township Police.