Thefts hit small businesses, including Cultura Chocolate in Westwood
When burglars broke into Cultura Chocolate in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood last month, they made off with more than $2,700 in cash, a laptop and a scooter.
They also took away some peace of mind from community leaders who have built a network of residential and business connections over the past four years, thanks in part to a series of free public events organized by Hecho en Westwood, a Denver nonprofit.
“People are really struggling right now, which I think is why there’s been an increase in thefts here,” said Damaris Ronkanen, who opened her bean-to-bar chocolate and hot chocolate shop at 3742 Morrison Road in early 2020.
Ronkanen was careful to point out that she generally felt safe in Westwood, a predominantly Latino and working-class enclave located between West Alameda and West Mississippi avenues and South Federal and South Sheridan boulevards. “But this is affecting the way people feel. We’ve worked to bring this community together and this is setting us back.”
The stolen money was raised at two recent events: a fashion show and fundraiser called Las Noches de Frida, and the Festival el Mole, which brought together chefs and artists to celebrate the savory Mexican sauce. These vibrant, family-friendly gatherings were meant to bring neighbors together and keep money in the neighborhood.
After the theft, Ronkanen, who is the founder of Hecho en Westwood, was so distraught that she decided to temporarily close her store, saying on Instagram that while the money and equipment could be replaced, she needed time to process and recover from the trauma.
But another event, the Saigon Azteca Night Market on Aug. 10, which brought together Westwood’s Latino and Vietnamese communities, gave her some momentum, enough that she hopes to reopen soon.
However, balancing security, growth and free cultural events in Westwood has proven difficult due to a series of thefts, including those at Cultura, Columbine Steak House and Lounge, La Casita Community Center, Las Hijas De La Chilanga, Pho 555 and Asian Cajun Crab Shack and Bar (which is a few blocks east of Westwood on Alameda Boulevard).
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The crimes have fueled fears that small businesses are being specifically targeted, perhaps by the same individual or group, said Denver City Council member Jamie Torres, whose District 3 includes the Westwood and Barnum neighborhoods.
“We are very supportive of festivals and events here, but seeing these thefts that seem so deliberate and planned takes the situation to another level of concern,” Torres said. “We have seen an increased presence and engagement from the police, but we can’t rely solely on them to solve this problem.”
Ronkanen also praised Denver Police Department District 4 officers for stepping up their patrols, showing up at cultural events and speaking directly with family-owned businesses that serve immigrant and non-English speaking residents.
The burglars knew the layout
Still, Ronkanen was shocked when she returned to Cultura on July 21 to find that two men — at least that’s what she could guess from blurry footage from a parking lot security camera — had deftly avoided cameras and interior lights to enter her store. No one was hurt, she noted, and the damage could have been worse.
The men knew the layout of the building and were clearly targeting Cultura, ignoring other rooms on the Re:Vision campus in Westwood, which includes a nonprofit urban farm program for low-income residents, she said. Days before that, someone had crashed a car into the back of Re:Vision in an attempt to steal a bicycle.
Ronkanen fears that the burglars will know his schedule down to the minute and that the cash register inside Cultura will not be guarded.
“It breaks my heart because we’ve worked so hard to build this community,” said Mimi Luong, a friend of Ronkanen’s who owns the Far East Center, the historic cluster of Asian businesses at Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue, which sometimes partners with Hecho in Westwood for events like the Saigon Azteca Market. “We have a vested interest in keeping this place safe, because if people are afraid, we’re out of business.”
Westwood’s tight-knit community of noodle shops, taquerias, beauty salons, auto repair shops and other independent businesses has been a focus for Ronkanen as she leads the nonprofit Hecho in Westwood and its community-building events.
The day before the event, the window of another business adjacent to the site, Nevería Bule Bule ice cream parlor, was broken, but the security system repelled the burglars before they could do anything else, Ronkanen said. That made DPD’s presence at the Aug. 10 event all the more important, Luong added.
“It’s not just about being visible, but also having officers who speak the language and are going door to door,” said DPD Commander Brad Qualley, whose District 4 includes Westwood (unlike City Council District 3, which has different boundaries). “The crime rate is down 7.4 percent from last year, but any time a specific type of crime is seen in a specific neighborhood, there’s always the fear that the crime rate is going to go up.”
Hard-won progress, a “sad” reality
“We’ve been open for over four years, so it’s sad to see this happen now,” Ronkanen said of Cultura. “But I would still like to see the city and nonprofits work together to provide more security for small businesses.”
“The police were parked in our parking lot all night until they got a call,” said Luong, whose Far East Center was recently designated a state historic landmark. “So I know they’re helping. But there are people here who are Asian or Latino and don’t speak much English, and I hope (police and city officials) can reach out to more small businesses where English may not be their first language.”
Ronkanen hopes to reopen Cultura by the end of August, but the theft doesn’t stop her from hosting future events, such as Trunk or Treat’s Halloween gathering in October. She feels comfortable texting DPD’s Qualley to work out the details, he said, and that’s not always the case in police relations within diverse communities.
“We want to make sure people know we’re hearing them,” said Qualley, who sends community resource officers to businesses and public meetings to directly address — and help train people to prevent — crime, gang violence and other problems.
Councilwoman Torres said one of her priorities is preserving the growth of businesses and events along Morrison Road, which runs diagonally through Westwood and includes the Re:Vision campus. She said some business owners still don’t trust police or city services like 911 — or even know they’re available to them — and it’s critical to educate them to be proactive in their own safety.
“Westwood has received federal security grants, but we’re also about to embark on a major two-year construction project” along Federal Boulevard, she said. “We need to make sure residents are prepared for this and all that it entails, from disruption to potential security vulnerabilities. There’s trauma in all of this, and we recognize that.”
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