Burglar's smash-and-grab leaves Westerville bakery closed indefinitely

WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – A local bakery north of Columbus has closed to literally pick up the pieces after its store was vandalized and burglarized last weekend.

On Friday, Jan. 5, a burglary in progress was reported at the Great Harvest Bread Co. in Westerville. Officers arrived at the business on South State Street, where they saw that someone had smashed out the front glass panel of a window next to the front door. Westerville police did not find anyone in the store and cleared the scene without incident.

Westerville police reported that no lights were on in the building and there was no apparent alarm. Great Harvest Bread Co. owner Jim Horstman arrived shortly after the police did, and confirmed that the cash registers in the office were undisturbed. There was no other apparent damage to the property.

However, the suspect(s) escaped with a donation jar, which contained money for the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM), according to a police incident report. Horstman said his shop gives the donation box to the charity once it’s full, and the store gives WARM all its bread that is left over after a 24-hour period.

“The donation box sits on the front counter, you can see it through the window,” Horstman said. “I guess someone felt the need to bust the window out to get that and leave. Everything else was intact that evening.”

The incident report stated that officers at the scene found a rock in front of the broken window, along with a used cigarette on the ground. Both were submitted for analysis. Police also checked with neighboring businesses to view surveillance cameras and are still in the process of reviewing the footage.

Horstman said that the store has been closed indefinitely, as they can't reopen until the damage is repaired. In particular, the damage to the window resulted in a problem for the bakery's food prep.

“Our issue is that there is glass all over the place and all over our equipment,” he said. “We have to have our machinery environmentally cleaned and taken apart because they’re covered with glass.”

Hortsman said that he’s hoping that the cleanup process will only take a few more days. A message on the bakery’s Facebook page reads, “Our store was burglarized on Friday evening. We will be closed until further notice for cleanup and repairs. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Thank you for your support.”