Thieves cause $100K damage to future Casa Grande restaurant in Marietta

Thieves break into building under renovation

Thieves break into a building under renovation in Marietta. Police say it appears they were mainly looking for copper.

MARIETTA, Ga. - A restaurant owner says thieves caused more than $100,000 in damage after breaking into a building under renovation in Marietta, targeting copper and other materials.

What they're saying:

Gus Tselios, who owns the popular Marietta Diner and several other restaurants in the area, recently purchased the former Applebee’s building on Franklin Gateway with plans to convert it into a Casa Grande Mexican restaurant.

"We purchased the property a few months ago," Tselios said.

But as the project was waiting on permits, he says thieves broke in—possibly through the roof—and ripped out copper water lines, electrical wiring, and even the plastic covers on the light fixtures.

"They took copper pipe, water pipes, water lines," Tselios said. "They cut all the electrical panels."

Throughout the kitchen ceiling, copper piping had been installed to feed water to the restaurant. Now, much of it is gone.

"You can see where they chopped them and just took them out," he said.

Tselios said the damage is extensive and far beyond what he initially budgeted. "We need to rewire the entire building, which is probably even harder than doing a new building, because you got to trace back where everything goes," he explained.

Police believe the break-in happened over the past few days. Because the property was still waiting on permits, there was no alarm system or surveillance cameras installed at the time. Investigators are now working with nearby businesses to obtain any possible surveillance footage.

"Our detectives were out here earlier today collecting evidence and clues as to who may have caused this," said Officer Chuck McPhilamy with the Marietta Police Department.

What's next:

Tselios is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

"Still upset about it, but we got to stay focused and get the restaurant up and running," he said. "Because we're excited to bring it to the area."