LA MESA, Calif. (KGTV) - A mid-renovation burglary for a La Mesa salon resulted in some ‘devastating’ losses.
“At first, I saw my dream go down,” said salon owner Kristina Norris. “They ransacked everything. They took every single penny I had, except they left a few pennies.”
On the morning of July 18, just before 7 a.m., one day into a complete remodel to transform the longtime Kids Hair Salon at Grossmont Center into a one-stop family salon, there was a break-in.
"The remodel was to kick off the new chapter for this salon. We were so excited and then, so devastated,” said Norris.
The front door was the entry point, as the burglar drilled open the lock. The thief smashed open a cash register, grabbed a laptop, two televisions, and tools like clippers and blow dryers.
Inside Norris’ locker in a back room was a safe with $21,000 in cash.
“This was not chump change. I saved for a very long time,” said a tearful Norris.
The cash was there to pay contractors and for payroll because Norris was headed out for a family vacation.
In all, the total loss was about $25,000.
“It's pretty low, pretty low. A kid's salon,” said Norris.
Insurance will pay for a little more than half of the loss. Norris, whose business is still coming back from the pandemic, had to borrow money to cover her renovation.
But borrow she did, and on Wednesday, the newly named salon will reopen.
“This is not going to get me down, no way,” said Norris. “We are booked solid and looking forward to seeing my customers and thanking them for all their support."
Police say a distant mall camera caught a light-colored sedan parked near the salon around the time of the break-in. If you have any information on the case, you're asked to call La Mesa Police Detective Sampugnaro at 619-667-7567 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the salon with the losses from the burglary.
