Thieves target Greenwood business, still closed after gas explosion



SEATTLE - A business in the Greenwood neighborhood still trying to recover from last month’s natural gas explosion has been hit again.

Tim Pipes says someone broke into his bar, The Angry Beaver, early Saturday morning.

He’s still trying to figure out exactly what they took. He knows hundreds of dollars’ worth of alcohol is gone, and so is some stereo equipment. He worries some of his priceless hockey memorabilia might also be missing.

“It’s like kicking a dog when he's down. What else do I have to deal with here?”

The bar suffered significant damage from a natural gas explosion across the street. It’s been closed ever since.

“I was sitting right here,” says Pipes. “We took the brunt of it.”

“He’s been through a lot,” says Marjorie Jones. “Then to be broken into, it's just very sad.”

Jones works at Seattle ReCreation, which is next door to The Angry Beaver. She says thieves have also broken into their store in the past.

“It’s the back of the stores that they're hitting because it's in an alleyway.”

She hopes police will increase their presence, so other businesses trying to rebuild after the explosion are not targeted.

As for Pipes, he says he a moment where he thought about closing his business for good. But he’s determined to come back.

“I’ve fought way too hard for this bar and I’m not going down now.”