Robbery impact still felt at Fresno restaurant. Thief knew what he was doing, co-owner says

A crook that struck at the Bollywood Indian Street Food restaurant in Fresno over the weekend caused more damage than just some stolen cash, and the owners on Tuesday said they were still trying to sort it out.

The restaurant, near North Cedar and East Herndon avenues, is a popular quick-service eatery that pays tribute to India’s movie industry while serving a cuisine based around naan, the puffy flatbread from India.

Goldie Bedi, one of the owners, on Tuesday said the crook appeared to know what he was doing.

The getaway vehicle was parked outside of camera range, Bedi said, and the burglar quickly made entry with a steel prybar. He took a cash register as well as the business safe, which he rolled out of the door within two minutes.

Bedi said that he received an alarm notification at 4:31 a.m., and rolled to the restaurant by 4:35 a.m. The thief was already gone.

In the aftermath, Bedi was forced to open a new bank account because of documents in the safe. Tuesday, the power was partially out at the restaurant, and Bedi wasn’t sure whether that was because the burglar did something to damage the alarm system.

“We already had to deal with COVID, now we have to deal with this,” Bedi said, as he waited outside for an electrician.

This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 3:27 PM.