ST. LOUIS — St. Louis police are looking for the thieves who bashed in the front door, damaged the building, and stole from Pineapple Tingz, a Jamaican-inspired business.
Tamara Hamber opened Pineapple Tingz in March in north St. Louis, and on Wednesday morning, it was broken into, making it a target. The business sells candy fruits, candy pineapples and more. Hamber said since opening, she's had lines out the door.
But now, the front door is all boarded up, and Hamber is left to pick up the pieces.
"Very much shocking. It's always been in the back of my mind, considering the location where I am. They basically just damaged everything. So, I'm like, I don't know if it was like a hate crime," Hamber said.
They damaged Hamber's iPad and card reader, emptied fridges full of inventory and completely trashed the place.
"When you've worked so hard, I'm a single mother of two toddlers, and they depend on my business. All of my bills depend on my business. I've just worked really hard up to this point and for that to happen when you're only trying to do something good for your community. It was devastating, honestly," Hamber said.
Besides all the damage, St. Louis police said the cash register was stolen.
"It's just like you just ram shack the whole place for just that register," Hamber said.
Thankfully, Hamber said she only had about $80 in it.
Pineapple Tingz has been a labor of love and hard work.
Hamber started selling food and slushies out of her house in 2016, finally opening the store, which was a dream come true for her.
"Even as a mother, you can't do too much laboring. You know, bills don't stop. We depend on my business. So, this is my sole income. So we still have to keep going," she said.
Hamber said police told her it's not just her business but other Black-owned businesses throughout St. Louis that have recently been targeted.
"It's very unfortunate what happened. It makes it seem like you can't bring good things to your community. It just seems like it's always a lot of break-ins and hateful things that happen to the Black-owned businesses, especially small businesses," she said.
Despite all the damage, Hamber opened her store the very next day, doors boarded and all, to make it clear she was not giving up.
"Never give up. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to stay here for two to three years. I said I was going to stay here. My babies, they love my store. They were even sad, too. Like we're going to keep going. I love the place that I'm at," Hamber said.
Police are still trying to find who is responsible for the break-in.
Hamber's getting a lot of support from the community and expects large crowds this weekend.
If you'd like to check out what Pineapple Tingz offers, click here.