Ashburn business owners frustrated after store is burglarized again

A Southwest Side couple was at home sleeping when they were woken up by a call alerting them that someone had broken into their business. Owners Ayesha and Sunny Khan said they got a call from their security company around 3 a.m. Thursday letting them know that the alarm at their store, New Quick Market, 8301 S. Kedzie Ave., in the Ashburn neighborhood had been set off. The couple called the police before hopping in their car and rushing to the store. When they arrived, Ayesha Khan said they were shocked but not surprised at the damage that was waiting for them. The front entrance was smashed open, and glass and cigarettes were littered across the parking lot. Inside, the cash register was broken and their inventory was left thrown on the ground. “This isn’t the first time this happens,” Ayesha Khan said. “During COVID, we had someone loot the store, and then just a few months ago there was a smash-and-grab. We had just finished repairing what was broken from last time and now it happened again.”Ayesha Khan said they had to replace the front door and even added security gates to the doors and windows. New Quick Market in Ashburn was broken into August 15, 2024.ProvidedVideo surveillance showed a group of males jumping out of two vehicles before hooking them up to the gate to remove it. The suspects then smashed the front doors and entered the store. They took the ATM, money from the cash register and liquor bottles before driving off. It wasn’t immediately known how much money was taken, Chicago police said. “They used their cars to rip the ATM out,” Ayesha Khan said. “It was bolted to the ground.” The couple said they don’t know why their store continues to be targeted, but they’re doing what they can to remain open. “This business is how we pay our bills,” Ayesha Khan said. “This is what my family lives off of. We have stay open. We don’t have another choice. We put in some temporary doors in the meantime. It’ll get us by until we can get the brand-new doors in.” Ayesha Khan said they gave surveillance video to police, but she isn’t hopeful they’ll find the people responsible. “Every time it’s happened, they gather the information but nothing ever happens,” she said. The couple is frustrated and wish city officials would come up with a plan to protect small business owners from crime. “The city needs to figure out a way to stop this because it’s affecting the small business owners that are just trying to survive,” Ayesha Khan said. “If this keeps happening, I don’t know how we’ll stay in business. There needs to be a plan.“Until something can be done, we’re going to keep serving our community.”Police said the suspects were believed to be driving a black Jeep Cherokee and black Lexus. No arrests were made.