ST. LOUIS — For more than 12 years, David Weglarz has enjoyed operating his Still 630 Distillery at Broadway and Chouteau Avenues near the heart of downtown St. Louis.
"We've stayed in it. We've put out a bunch of historical firsts. We are the most awarded distillery in the state of Missouri," Weglarz said.
Now, the proud business owner is fuming because on Saturday morning he and his staff were getting ready to give tours when Weglarz made a disturbing and startling find.
"We've had graffiti on the sides multiple times, but this is the first time it's ever been so blatant and over such an expensive piece of our art that we put up. They're having a good kick out of it by desecrating a local, family business," Weglarz added.
Police are also checking to see if the same vandals sprayed graffiti on a building near Gravois and Salena in south city.
That's where Doug Nguyen is having the building renovated for his new Mexican restaurant "Fiesta Margarita" and an upscale cocktail lounge.
Workers spent the day cleaning up the graffiti-related mess.
"It's so unfortunate. I'm investing in that neighborhood because I love where I live," Nguyen told 5 On Your Side's Robert Townsend during a telephone interview.
Nguyen found similar graffiti on his building Sunday evening.
The business owners believe the same vandals left the costly mess on other shops and vacant buildings in Soulard and Benton Park.
Right now, a spokesperson for the St. Louis Police Department says they are aware of at least three tagging incidents in that area.
They don't have any information on suspects.
"I'm a small business owner who's starting out and trying to open my own place. Every dollar counts right now, so it's definitely a hassle that will easily cost several thousand dollars," Nguyen added.
"A couple of bad apples ruin a bunch, right? My message to them is, keep this crap in your neighborhood. We're trying to promote St. Louis," Weglarz said.
The graffiti overlapped with the Paint Louis event this weekend. Paint Louis is an annual festival that celebrates graffiti and other elements of hip hop culture.
In a Facebook post, the planning committee of the event said they were contacted by business owners that "have been affected by things which happened during the event."
In the post, the committee said artists are warned before the event, during registration and during the event that painting is only allowed at the flood wall south of the Arch.
The post said artists who were identified painting in unauthorized areas will not be invited back in the future.