Macon restaurant Keene’s Kafe asking for community support after break-in

The owner of Keene's Kafe, a family-run restaurant in Macon, says he is facing a setback due to a break-in, and he's asking for support from the community.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Jonathan Keene, the owner of Keene’s Kafe, woke to an unwelcome surprise on Wednesday after he says his Macon-based restaurant, located within a Shell gas station at 6369 Thomaston Road, fell victim to a break-in. Keene says he lost food stocks and funds from the restaurant’s money box as a result.

“I got a phone call just before 4 a.m. from the owner of the building that asked me to come up here, and when I got here, we saw they had cut a hole in the back of the building and had come through the back of the building and then knocked a hole in my sheet rock wall to come into my area,” he said. “They were headed for the Shell.”

Keene’s Kafe, a five-month-old establishment operated by Keene and his wife, now faces a setback due to the break-in. Keene says he believes the culprits were targeting the Shell station and that his restaurant was just a collateral target.

“They avoided the motion detectors by coming in through my restaurant, which is why they did that,’ he said. “There’s no motion detectors back there, which is why they were basically able to go undetected until they decided to leave the building. When they left the building, they came through the main foyer area, and that’s what alerted the alarm company that we had had a break-in.”

Keene says he’s receiving positive response from the community, who came together to support the business with donations and a GoFundMe campaign.

“Life is going to happen,” he said. “And there’s good people and there’s bad people, and for every bad person there’s a hundred good people, and so as long as you do what’s right and you help and you give what you can and you try and make a difference, I feel like you’ll always be okay.”