'We are worried': Portland boba shop owner shutters business due to repeat vandalism
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Out of an abundance of caution, an Overlook neighborhood boba shop has shuttered.
Ha Phan, owner of Auntea Ha on 5329 N Interstate Ave., told KOIN 6 the shop has closed due to repeat vandalism from who was initially believed to be a supportive customer. She said the suspect became a regular patron about two months ago, shortly after the business celebrated its third anniversary.
According to the owner, the man first asked for black tea several times in one day. Phan claimed he then began sharing a lot of information about his personal life and leaving generous tips for workers. She noted that he sometimes came off as aggressive and mentioned owning a gun, but there was a communication barrier due to English being her second language.
More recently, the man started to order drinks and ask to pay for them later.
“And I go, ‘That's okay. You don't have to,’ because he left a huge tip,” Phan said. “I just want to repay his kindness.”
The suspect also began visiting the boba shop just to use the restroom that is typically reserved for customers.
It wasn’t until last week that he came in threatening to “f*ck” employees up if they didn’t return his belongings within 24 hours, Phan recalled. She said the man also told workers not to “act dumb” and accused them of treating him as if he were “dumb.”
"I cannot afford to keep the shop closed, but if we don't close, he may shoot us," she said.
But there was no sign of this individual at the boba shop 24 hours later, according to Phan. The following day, June 14, is when surveillance footage shows the suspect shattering a window with what appears to be a knife sharpener. The window was vandalized again on Thursday, footage shows.
“I'm pretty confident in saying that I didn't do anything wrong to him, because the last time that he talked to us… I waved at him with a big smile,” Phan said. “Out of nowhere, he throws us a situation like that. And now, because he mentioned that he has the gun, we are worried — so I cannot afford to keep the shop.”
The owner added that she would feel safer reopening the shop if she knew the suspect was arrested and unable to return. The Portland Police Bureau told KOIN 6 that officers are investigating the case, but there haven’t been any arrests thus far.