INDIANAPOLIS — A popular restaurant on the east side of Indianapolis is temporarily closed after it was burglarized.
According to an IMPD report, someone broke into Fast Wok Restaurant on Wednesday, Dec. 6 shortly after 10:30 a.m.
The police report says the burglar stole cash and damaged the front door and window. The money stolen and damage to the building is an estimated $1,700, according to IMPD.
Thursday morning, Fast Wok posted on its Facebook page that the restaurant would be "closed until further notice" due to the burglary. About an hour later, the restaurant posted again and said, "Fast Wok will reopen. Couple of days. Can't stop us."
Unfortunately, this is just the latest incident preventing customers from enjoying Fast Wok's Chinese and Thai food.
The restaurant first closed a year-and-a-half ago when the owner got sick. It reopened in early November, but not for long, closing after only two days.
The owner announced on Facebook that she was tired and didn't feel safe after she said police were called five times for customers fighting in long lines.
The owner's husband, Gaylon Nettles, initially told 13News his wife had planned on reopening the restaurant in January, but they did not give a specific date to avoid what happened when they reopened in November.
That's when lines ran out the door and down the street, with people waiting hours in line just to order.
The 80-year-old owner, affectionally called "Mama" by the restaurant's loyal customers who had been coming there for decades, announced she was closing Fast Wok's doors again, saying on Facebook that there had been several fights.
The last one, she said, was inside the restaurant when someone got mad about someone possibly cutting in line and reached for his pocket, like he might pull out a gun.
That's when Mama closed down and locked the doors.
No one was hurt, and a gun was never pulled, but it was enough that Mama decided to close down for good, she told customers on social media.
John Bray had waited to come to the restaurant to avoid long lines and was upset to find out the restaurant had closed again.
"She's been in my life for 35 years, and it was just an icon of the city, and it's a shame she's having technical difficulties," Bray said.
It wasn't just the food that brought Bray back each time — it was Mama's love for the east side and the people who live there.
"Like, Thanksgiving, OK, she would give out no-charge on Thanksgiving. She'd give you your meal. Anybody. Everybody. She's a very good pillar in the community," Bray said.
"She gave jobs to people, too. We need to give jobs to people so they can have something to look forward to every day," said customer Brian Woods, who said he'll be the first in line when Fast Wok reopens again. "I miss her. I hope she comes back."
Mama's husband said she will be back, this time with off-duty police officers working security and crowd control.