Thieves steal $1,000 worth of meat from Livermore restaurant during Little Fire evacuations

By CBS Bay Area

After closing early on Tuesday due to the Little Fire, staff at Da Boccery in Livermore realized about $1,000 of meat and cheese was missing.

The restaurant and bar is located on Vineyard Avenue, sitting across the street from the Ruby Hill neighborhood.

Ruby Hill residents were among thousands ordered to evacuate on Tuesday, as the wildfire headed northeast towards the neighborhood.

“Between myself and our owner, we decided to close early for the safety of the staff and guests,” Mitchell Bryant, the general manager of Da Boccery, said. “We come to find out that next day that at 7:30 p.m., somebody had cut the bolt to our back gate, come in, and helped themselves to a case of our burgers and tri-tip. Then, he returned around 10:30 with a friend to take four more cases of burgers, some bacon, and some cheese.”

An investigation of the theft is ongoing, according to a Livermore Police Department spokesperson. The crime is considered a felony, as the worth of the stolen property exceeded $950.

“The optimist in me would like to think that maybe he’s trying to feed a family or got some other personal problems, (and) that this was his only recourse. But honestly, I think it was just opportunistic,” Mitchell said. “It was bizarre and unfortunate. We never thought we’d have to deal with that.”