East Austin businesses needing extra support after break-ins, robberies

AUSTIN, Texas — The holidays are a time for giving, but for some people, it’s a time for taking from the backbone of Austin – small businesses. 

“Times are hard,” said Justin Galicz, owner of The Little Gay Shop on East 12th Street. “The holidays make people act a little crazier than usual.”

Galicz said a couple of weeks ago, the shop was broken into, leaving them with $2,500 in damages and stolen items. 

“Unfortunately I’m seeing a lot of our other small business friends dealing with this a lot more this season,” said Galicz. 

In a separate incident, right next door at nonprofit Future Front Texas, where creative art exhibits and workshops live, Executive Director Jane Hervey said they were robbed during business hours on Friday. 

“Someone from the street entered out of nowhere, grabbed our laptop and other materials from our reception desk, took all of those belongings and just threw them into the street,” explained Hervey. 

Hervey said the suspect attempted to come inside the East Austin exhibit again hours later. 

“Their intent was really not just to steal and take property but also to damage property and to destroy property, which is really a whole other issue in of itself, you know. That’s a mental health concern,” said Hervey. 

Hervey said other nearby businesses and even homeowners dealt with a similar situation that same day. This forced Hervey to close shop a few days earlier than planned due to safety concerns. Now, she’s trying to recoup the $2,500 in stolen items, as well as up $10,000 to increase security, like getting bars on the door. 

“It’s just difficult to recover from these sorts of things where you just don’t have a lot of recourse. It’s not covered by insurance,” said Hervey. 

Hervey said her team is trained in de-escalation because this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, but it is the most extreme. She’s thankful no one was hurt. 

“Nobody was harmed, which I’m really grateful for, but it was definitely a wild day,” said Hervey. 

Hervey said she’s heard from other small business owners being robbed and burglarized all across town during the holidays. 

As for the Little Gay Shop, the owners raffled off the rock used to shatter their door, recouping most of their money. 

Hervey hopes the creative community continues to support the small businesses across the city that are being hit during the holidays.

KVUE reached out to Austin police and are waiting for a response. KVUE also reached out to Integral Care, the county’s mental health response team, and it said it is working on a response. 

If you want to donate to Future Front, visit the nonprofit’s website.