20-02-2025
‘This hiccup doesn't stop us at all:' Clearfield store moving forward after robbery
CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – A small store is moving forward after a recent robbery, and they say they can only do so thanks to community support.
Susquehanna Small Batch is a small goods store in Clearfield County. In fact, it is so small that there are no full-time employees – everything is paid using the honors system. Since opening around Thanksgiving, Melony Verelli, one of the owners, says they have not had any issues with that until now.
Around 7 a.m. Feb. 19, the store's cameras showed a man entering the store and stealing baked goods, gelato and bread. A theft like that could spell doom for a small business, so Small Batch took to Facebook asking the community if anyone could identify the burglar.
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'Within half an hour, we had figured out who it was,' Verelli said.
The store confirmed in another post to Facebook that the state police are now looking into the incident. Verelli says they are not letting this incident scare them, and they hope this sends a message to any future would-be criminals.
'We hope that this will be a good example for people who might want to do this in the future, like they see how quickly we identified that there was an issue and the community helped us quickly identify who it was, and it was taken care of that quickly,' Verelli said.
As for the future of the store, they do plan on keeping the honors system, not wanting 'one incident to ruin it for everybody.' They also want to eventually add the option to buy hot food, and they are not going to let this robbery slow their growth.
'This hiccup doesn't stop us at all. It doesn't outweigh the good,' Verelli said.
For the latest on Susquehanna Small Batch, visit their Facebook page.
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