Woodburn food cart pod burglaries leave vendors with repairs and stolen property

Several vendors at a Woodburn food cart pod are dealing with repairs and stolen property after overnight burglaries at The Lot Highway 99 Food Carts, according to the Woodburn Police Department.

Police said the break-ins happened during the early morning hours of July 13 at the pod at 1600 Industrial Ave. Officers responded after reports that multiple food trucks had been forcibly entered. Investigators said surveillance video helped identify a suspect, and the case remains active.

KATU reported that video showed a suspect moving through one of the food cart pods and opening cabinets inside a business. Another camera captured damage to a separate food cart after the break-in.

Luba Reutob, manager of From Russia With Love, said the business was hit just one month after opening at the Woodburn location. She told KATU that the door was damaged during the entry and had to be replaced. Reutob said the door repair cost about $800, and the stolen property added more than $1,000 in losses. Among the items taken was the business cellphone used to take customer orders, which she said would cost about $1,000 to replace.

Reutob said her family has operated food businesses since 2015 and had never experienced a burglary before this one.

Another vendor, Richard Buzzelli, co-owner of ThaiWoodburn, told KATU that his business was also targeted. The report did not include further details about the damage to that cart.

For small business owners, a burglary can create immediate expenses beyond the stolen items themselves. Broken locks, damaged doors, and missing equipment can interrupt daily operations and leave owners sorting through insurance questions while trying to reopen. In an Oregon property crime case, preserving photos, repair estimates, surveillance video, and police records can help document the loss.