13 July 4-10, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | After the third burglary occurred, the un- imaginable happened: Just as police con- tacted Medici to let him know they were almost positive they had arrested a suspect, the restaurant was burglarized yet again. Ac- cording to Medici, police had just released the suspect at 2 a.m. However, the burglary oc- curred at midnight. Therefore, Medici be- lieves the subject or subjects are still out there. And despite increased security measures after the initial burglaries, including the installa- tion of new surveillance cameras, the quaint Italian restaurant continues to be the target of burglaries — and they have had enough of it. Last week, the Luna Pasta e Dolci team took to Instagram to share the surveillance footage of what they say was their “fourth break-in (in 30 days)...” The caption reads, in part, “Over five windows smashed at our take- out location in under 30 days. We hate to ask for donations, and this is our first time creat- ing a GoFundMe, even though we have expe- rienced this in the past. However, after so many different break-ins in the past 30 days, we need your help to get back on our feet.” The family-owned and -operated restaurant, which also has a market (and makes its own de- licious pasta that can be purchased in boxes), recently expanded to develop a take-away spot next door, which was a large investment for their team due to the cost of construction, key money (upwards of $250,000), larger staff, and many more expenses. Now, Medici and his family have created a GoFundMe to raise money to help get the res- taurant back on its feet. The description on the GoFundMe states, “Dear Community, Luna Pasta e Dolci is our family-owned restaurant. We are heartbroken to share that our Luna take-away, a beloved local spot, has suffered four break-ins in one week last month. These incidents have left us with significant damage and losses, threaten- ing the very heart of our small business. We pride ourselves on being a cornerstone of this community, serving delicious meals and cre- ating a welcoming atmosphere for everyone. We humbly ask for your support through our GoFundMe campaign to help us repair and re- store our restaurant. Thank you for standing by us during this difficult time.” Despite the recent hardships Medici and his team are facing, they are more grateful than ever before for the community of Miami. “Thankfully, we’ve gotten pretty good support so far with our GoFundMe, so we’re thankful for our community,” says Medici. “We didn’t even want to bother our community, but due to all of the expenses, we had no choice. The takeout location doesn’t even generate a lot of money since its primarily for UberEats, which takes 30 percent of the profits. Therefore, we’re just trying to raise just enough to cover the windows, installations, and, unfortunately, this time around they also broke our iPad, which is how we process all of our payments.”Repairing the iPad and payment processing system will cost nearly $2,000. The window repairs will cost thousands more. If you would like to make a donation to the restaurant’s GoFundMe page, click here. If you have any information about these burglaries, please call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Luna Pasta e Dolci. 6927 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-405-3679; lunapastaedolci.com. NICOLE LOPEZ-ALVAR
