Police: 2 Little Rock Tropical Smoothie shops burglarized within hours

A small lot in a curve on Rebsamen Park Road led developers to orient a Tropical Smoothie Cafe with its back side facing the street.
A small lot in a curve on Rebsamen Park Road led developers to orient a Tropical Smoothie Cafe with its back side facing the street.

Two Tropical Smoothie Cafe restaurants in Little Rock were burglarized within hours of each other early Tuesday, according to authorities.

The burglaries — one on the city’s west side and the second in the Riverdale neighborhood — both involved two burglars in hoodies who were unsuccessful in their attempts to open the restaurants’ safes, police said.

Officer Richard Hilgeman, a spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department, said it was not clear Wednesday morning whether the burglaries were related.

Police said the first burglary happened at 1:12 a.m. at the Tropical Smoothie shop at 11900 Kanis Road. A report noted that responding officers to the location at 6:35 a.m. Tuesday and spoke with an employee.

The employee said the front door of the business had been broken before his arrival to work that morning. While reviewing surveillance video, the worker observed two burglars, both dressed in all-light clothing and hoodies with their faces covered, pulling on a safe.

After several attempts to open the safe, the would-be thieves fled the restaurant, police said.

Another Tropical Smoothie burglary was reported at 2:50 a.m. Tuesday, that time at the restaurant's location at 1510 Rebsamen Park Road.

An employee who reviewed surveillance video in that burglary told authorities at 7:25 a.m. that two people used a crowbar to break the glass front door to the Riverdale eatery, a report states.

Responding officers reviewed the video, noting that the two burglars later attempted to open a safe. When unsuccessful, they tried to steal two registers, causing "substantial damage" to one of them, according to authorities.

The burglars in the Riverdale break-in were described in the report as wearing hoodies, face masks and gloves.

No property was reported stolen in either burglary.

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