Service! restaurant facing setback after thousands of dollars of copper, equipment stolen
A Columbus nonprofit whose mission is to support struggling workers in the service industry is facing a setback after one of their future restaurants had thousands of dollars of copper and restaurant items stolen during a recent break-in.
Service! was founded during the early days of COVID-19 shutdowns to provide financial relief and meals to central Ohioans who lost their jobs in restaurants, bars, bakeries and other food-service businesses, The Dispatch previously reported. The nonprofit also operates a restaurant with a similar mission at the Franklin County Government Center.
The nonprofit had been planning to open their second restaurant, called The Line, sometime in spring 2026, said Sangeeta Lakhani, executive director of Service!. The future restaurant will be a training hub for those in the service industry and provide long-term career growth.
Lakhani said that sometime between May 18-20, multiple thieves broke the combination lock housing keys to the building and made off with at least $1,800 worth of copper and around $5,000 worth of restaurant equipment. Lakhani said that the thieves also ripped the electrical panels and wiring out of the wall and that there is no electricity in the building.
The estimated cost of the break-in losses doesn't include the cost of having to rewire the building.
"We literally just got the keys to the space," Lakhani said in a phone call with The Dispatch on May 22. She said she realized the morning of May 20 that the restaurant had been ransacked and the copper wiring had been stripped. The thieves, she said, left behind clothing, shoes, and even a bicycle.
Lakhani said they are still waiting on several building permits to proceed with construction, which was estimated to take about six to eight months to complete. She said the break-in more than likely pushes the planned opening back, though it's too soon to tell how long the opening will be delayed.
Lakhani said that while she wasn't exactly mad at the thieves, she is frustrated because the nonprofit's mission is to help struggling people — people she thinks who are probably similar to the ones who broke into the restaurant.
"I guess we didn't get to (help) them fast enough," said Lakhani. "I'm frustrated that we live in a world where people have to steal to get their basic needs met."
Lakhani said that while they did have insurance, they had just gotten that along with the keys less than two weeks ago and she believes they would likely be penalized or dropped by the insurance company if they filed a claim so soon.
As a result, Lakhani said the nonprofit would be forced to resort to fundraising to make up for the financial loss.
Copper theft is fairly common due to its high market value. It affects a wide range of sectors, and thieves will usually sell stolen copper to scrapyards, according to metalfacts.com. Copper wiring can range in price from $2.50 to $4.50 per pound.
In 2007, Columbus became the first Ohio community to require scrap yards to submit daily online info to police about each sale, including the names and information about the sellers as well as to take a photo of them and the materials they turned in for sale.
The state of Ohio adopted similar legislation in 2012 but installation of the system took a few years.
Despite the efforts, Ohio was ranked among the five top states with the highest number of copper thefts in 2019 with 410 thefts, according to the National Crime Insurance Bureau.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Service! faces setback after restaurant break in, copper theft
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