Name: Turtle Tower owner details being robbed in the middle of the day: 'Enough is enough'
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Turtle Tower owner details being robbed in the middle of the day: 'Enough is enough'

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateWhen she saw the thief walk into her restaurant on Tuesday afternoon, Thao Pham says she greeted him.The owner of the renowned Vietnamese chain had been preparing orders for takeout and delivery, and assumed he was there to pick up his lunch. Instead, she said, the man stole a fistful of cash from the tip jar, knocking over everything on the counter. He threatened Pham, stole the remainder of tips from her cash register drawer, and took off without a trace."It happened extremely fast. I was in shock," Pham told SFGATE, recounting the incident. "I was alone at the time, so I felt helpless."Sobbing, she immediately called the police, but more than two hours had passed before they arrived at Turtle Tower's Tenderloin location on 545 Larkin St. When they did, officers told Pham she should have locked the doors she intentionally left open as a safety precaution for her customers — and herself — to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.Things were already tough going for her family's restaurant, which runs two other locations in SoMa and the Outer Richmond. Business has gone down 50% since the beginning of the pandemic, and every day, Pham has been finding new ways to stay afloat. This particular incident "added insult to injury," she said, but it was fear for the state of her neighborhood that made her feel inclined to speak out.In a statement shared to Instagram on Sunday morning, Pham the robbery as "a terrifying experience at a time when we are just trying to survive as a small business," adding, "The police response to this situation has been equally disappointing. We need to do better for our small businesses and vulnerable populations in the Tenderloin if any of us are to survive."Police told SFGATE they had been informed the incident was a petty theft, rather than a robbery, classifying the incident as a "B priority" call that warranted a non-emergency response. The Tenderloin Police Station will continue to investigate the crime.Though the monetary damage was minimal — about $20 or $30 was stolen in total — Pham&nbsp;said she recognized the man who robbed her and thinks he lives in a neighboring encampment on Willow St. A member of the , she called the organization's director to warn other business owners of the theft."Once I shared the story with the other merchants, a lot of responses were, 'This happens to me every other week,'" she said. "I think we’ve been protecting this beautiful image of San Francisco and don’t want to air out our dirty laundry, but I no longer feel safe in my own restaurant — my own neighborhood."Now, Pham is urging city residents and proprietors alike to in support of their efforts to improve the Tenderloin's commercial corridors. She's also encouraging people to speak up to ensure crimes are accurately reported in their own neighborhoods."This shouldn’t be what we have to deal with to run a business in SF. Enough is enough," she said. "Thankfully no one was harmed, but we are saddened that our city has allow our neighborhood to slip into this."Read the full statementMORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus&nbsp;.Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE associate digital reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateWhen she saw the thief walk into her restaurant on Tuesday afternoon, Thao Pham says she greeted him.The owner of the renowned Vietnamese chain had been preparing orders for takeout and delivery, and assumed he was there to pick up his lunch. Instead, she said, the man stole a fistful of cash from the tip jar, knocking over everything on the counter. He threatened Pham, stole the remainder of tips from her cash register drawer, and took off without a trace."It happened extremely fast. I was in shock," Pham told SFGATE, recounting...

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Amanda Bartlett

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Turtle Tower owner details being robbed in the middle of the day: 'Enough is enough'

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