CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte residents and visitors love uptown for pretty much the same reason: The spectacular skyline, the unique, upscale restaurants and, of course, for its beauty.
Some residents told Channel 9 when the sun goes down, safety along some uptown streets becomes a concern.
Twice in one month, burglars hit a popular upscale wine and tapas restaurant, stealing cash and equipment and damaging the building.
The Mandrake sits across the street from the federal courthouse on the corner of Mint and West Trade streets.
On a beautiful afternoon, guests were sitting outside enjoying the view.
Channel 9 obtained incident reports from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police showing that on Aug. 31, thieves broke into the restaurant and stole a floor safe, a cash register drawer and an iPad.
Three weeks later burglars hit the restaurant again. That time, they took hundreds of dollars worth of alcohol.
The heist cost the owner more than $4,200 in loss of property and damage.
"That's crazy. I was just telling them I need to go to the DMV now and I was telling them I don't want to walk by myself even now," Jericho Estanislao, who works in uptown, said.
"Walking up and down the block, you shouldn't be downtown afraid to get back and forth," student Robbie York said.
Channel 9 pulled crime stats in the area and found at least 13 businesses and residences that had been burglarized in the past month within a 1-mile radius of the restaurant.
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