Minneapolis grocery store bounces back after copper thief inflicts ‘massive hit,’ huge loss of food

It was a difficult sight for staff at Eastside Food Co-op in northeast Minneapolis last week: dumpsters filled with spoiled food after a thief damaged the refrigeration system while trying to steal copper piping.

The vandalism last week forced the staff to throw out what they estimate to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in food items.

But the refrigeration was repaired by Saturday, and staff scrambled to get food back on the shelves over the weekend. The managers anticipate the store will be fully restocked by this Saturday, marketing manager Tucker Gerrick said, while emphasizing that the store is not in danger of closing after the setback.

“Drama sells, but we’re good now,“ Gerrick said in a phone interview. ”We took a massive hit ... but we’ll be OK. Props to the community for keeping their cool and being compassionate and supportive."

Around 4 or 5 a.m. on Oct. 22, someone used a ladder to climb onto the roof of the grocery store at 2551 Central Av. NE. before unsuccessfully attempting to steal copper piping by cutting into the refrigeration and HVAC equipment.

As staff arrived, temperature alarms started going off throughout the store, and it was clear the entire refrigeration system was down, Gerrick said. Security footage showed a single suspect after they came down off the roof. No arrests have been made as of Monday.

Shelves typically filled with produce, deli goods, and frozen foods were empty last week after the refrigeration shut down and the food spoiled. Photos posted to social media showed dumpsters filled with disposed food and refrigerators covered with caution tape.

“Watching those dumpsters be hauled away, brimming full with groceries that have expired when so many are hungry and in need, it’s nothing short of absolutely devastating,” Gerrick said.

It was especially difficult for some in surrounding communities who don’t have a car or bicycle and typically walk to the store for essentials.

“It’s just a real horrible thing that this person either didn’t care about or didn’t think about, but people rallied,” Gerrick said.

This vandalism occurred as the Twin Cities area endures a surge in copper theft from streetlights and other infrastructure by people who want to turn a profit.

St. Paul spent more than $1.2 million in 2023 to address copper wire theft. And in May of this year Minneapolis committed $1 million of contingency funding to address a recent spurt of copper theft from light poles.

In her ruling, the judge said the harm of pausing the law’s implementation “far outweighed” the impact on the scrap metal industry.

Almost all food products were back on the shelves on Monday, and shipments of food resumed on Saturday.

It’s being determined what the total damages are with the spoiled food and the maintenance costs. The store has insurance, but Gerrick said it’s unclear how much will be covered.

As a community-owned grocery store, the shop has over 12,000 owners. At least one of them donated financially to help the store, Gerrick said. In a Facebook post, the store thanked the community for its support and said the best way to support the business is to shop there.