White Center coffee shop burglarized 3 times in 9 days

SEATTLE -- The neon sign at the Dubsea coffee shop says open for business but the handmade sign on the door tells a different story:

"Due to another break-in Dubsea is closed for the second straight day."

The shop has been hit not once, not twice but three times in the past week and a half.

The thief broke in through the back door, broke out two different windows and stole the cash register and a safe, with cash inside both.

"I came in to broken glass all over the floor and a ransacked office and a general feeling of shock,” Dubsea owner Sibelle Nguyen said Thursday.

"Well it's devastating and it's terrifying. There are a lot of kids in the neighborhood. It's a family-friendly neighborhood so it's devastating to think there is threat so near,” customer Lisha Gwynn said.

Throughout the day regular customers made their way to the front door, only to find it closed and they're upset.

"Yeah, like after school ritual; to not be able to come to my spot with my kid because someone broke into it and to do that to them is just awful,” customer April Savage said.

Dubsea is more than just a coffee shop -- it's a gathering spot in White Center, a safe place for kids, a venue for community meetings and as one person said, part of the glue that holds the community together.

"It's my choice, my preference. My mom lives in West Seattle and just had a meeting here the other night,” Gwynn said.

The community is rallying around Nguyen and her shop.

"I just love this coffee shop and I wish that everybody would stop by and give their support,” customer Ray Fragada said.

Already there are those who are searching for ways to help.

Block watches and fundraisers are planned, but Nguyen says she'd rather everyone pay it forward as the sign over the counter says: give love, get love.

"The best way anyone can help us is by being more engaged in the community themselves and just basic simple things like being good to each other,” Nguyen said.

In the five years the shop has been open, Nguyen says she never felt the need for a security system but all that will change first thing Friday morning when security cameras are installed to protect the building inside and out.