06-06-2025
Kansas City business owner resilient after eighth break-in
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Security camera footage from Friday morning shows the front door of Ruby Jean's Kitchen and Juicery being smashed in, as would-be thieves unlocked the door and let themselves in.
'It was an all too familiar call,' said Ruby Jean's owner, Chris Goode, about learning of the break-in. 'A call that I've gotten many times before.'
Goode says this is the , they were able to catch the door smashing on their security cameras. Goode described it as 'a couple of people taking a hammer and just having way too much time to hammer through security film, through glass, reach their hand through, and unlock the door.'
Despite the frustrating circumstances, Goode said he's focusing on the positives of the situation.
'Yes, it's infuriating, but it's no, there's no progress in that pain,' Goode said. 'There's no progress in being pissed.'
He says it's all a part of being an entrepreneur.
'You've got to be able to accept the lows as much as you celebrate the highs, you have no choice in entrepreneurship,' he said. 'Because we know we don't have crystal balls, you know, we don't have long runways of funding. We don't have just endless copious amounts of customers all the time. But it's a faith walk.'
He's encouraging other entrepreneurs, enduring the faith walk, to push forward. He said it's because he knows you reap what you sow.
'The investment they made that night into their time to break into this door, that's coming back to them,' Goode said. 'How we invest of ourselves no matter what, whether it's good or bad, that's a deposit. And there there's going to be a return for that.'
Even though it's his eighth break-in, Goode says there's nothing government or law enforcement can do to address the issue.
He says it's a community issue that requires a community-focused solution.
'I would bet that there's more opportunity on the other side of community and of shaking people's hand and of telling people about your struggles and your circumstance than there is coming into a juice bar at 4 a.m. in the morning,' Goode said.
He said the community that surrounds his business never fails to pick him up when he struggles, and he hopes that it catches on.
'Every single time [there's a break-in] there's a flood of comments, a flood of support. We had a line to the door that day,' he added.
As Ruby Jean's gets ready to celebrate 10 years in business, Goode said they aren't going anywhere.
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'I've been rooted here. I and my team, we're not running. We're only going to dig deeper trenches here and figure out ways to be a part of healing,' he said.
FOX4 reached out to the Kansas City Police Department for their report on the incident, but we did not hear back in time for the deadline for this story.
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