Abilene restaurant owner faces challenges with homeless encampments

Yahoo

12-03-2025

ABILENE, Texas () – Just over a year ago, BigCountryHomepage spoke with Jack Kaikratoke, owner of the China Star restaurant on South 1st Street, about the massive amounts of debris piling up just along the edge of his property line.
Unhoused residents camping in the nearby wooded area of Elm Creek and passing under the South 1st Street overpass left debris there. Following a large-scale clean-up project by the city, Kaikratoke says some things have improved, but not enough to keep the issue from returning.
'Needles all kinds of stuff': Abilene restaurant owner overwhelmed by trash from growing homeless camp
'They don't come camping here no more…The major one is under the bridge…My business has dropped big time… Once a week, I have to come and clean this,' Kaikratoke said as he patrolled the property line with a bucket and garbage grabber in hand.
The city's clean-up efforts have dramatically transformed the wooded area near his parking lot. He says homeless residents returned to the area underneath the South 1st Street overpass bridge almost immediately or, if not returned, continued to tell others about the spot.
'The old ones that you see are gone, and the new ones come replace it…It just. It seems like an issue that we cannot solve,' said Kaikratoke.
His repeated encounters with unwelcome campers continue to be an issue for his business and safety. A couple of weeks ago, he installed motion-activated exterior lights and is now considering a security camera system.
Kaikratoke says he has called the city and police on multiple occasions. Still, the campers continue to return, unwilling to pick up after themselves and, at times, becoming aggressive or even racist towards him, a Thai man who has owned and operated his restaurant in Abilene for about 40 years.
'They know where my property line is, so they stay just outside, so I cannot do anything about it. I ask them nicely, 'Please can you leave?' But if they don't leave, they'll be aggressive. They say, ' Well, I'm not on your property. ' Some of them even say, 'You should go back to where you came from.' I don't know what we can do but the city and whoever's in charge,' Kaikratoke shared.
The clean-up efforts on Elm Creek were part of a larger project by the city to clear out known encampments around town.
GALLERY: Homeless camp cleanup efforts have cost City of Abilene $100,000
The Abilene City Council will discuss the Abilene Homeless Initiative at their next meeting on March 13 at 8:30 p.m.
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