RICHMOND, (WRIC) – A thief left the Paix Coffee and the Fan District community in shock after stealing the small business’s trailer and generator – leaving them unable to transport their coffee cart or give it power on the streets.
Seth McDaniel and Danny Hodge quit their day jobs to open Paix Coffee and work the small business full time – serving their specialty espresso out of their coffee trailer on Monument Avenue most days. McDaniel and Hodge said they never imagined their trailer would be stolen.
“It definitely put a halt to our mobile operation,” said McDaniel.
The theft took place at 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 26 on the 400 block of Cleveland Street in the Museum District – and it was all captured by the Rex Co. Clothing store’s camera.
“We had a boot on the trailer to help protect it from getting stolen,” said Hodge.
But that didn’t stop someone from sawing off the boot, attaching the trailer to a white Ford truck and speeding off with a generator and supplies – all worth around $5,000.
“We filed a report pretty much within the hour that we found out. But there’s not a lot to go on. So they haven’t even really contacted us about it yet,” said Hodge. “So we’re just kind of waiting.”
Paix Coffee has only been up and running for seven months – becoming quite the buzz around town. When the owners posted on social media they needed some help financially and created a fund – the community raised over $7,000 to cover the costs of what was stolen.
We should have a trailer, you know, hopefully within the week,” said Hodge. “Thank you to Richmond City for really stepping up and like, helping us get right back on our feet, like, right away.”
