Catonsville shop owners woke up Sunday morning to a wave of burglaries on Frederick Road, with at least seven businesses having doors and windows broken and some items like cash registers stolen.
The affected businesses include Franco’s, El Guapo, Painted Whims, Write On!, Blue Iris Flowers, Taneytown Deli, and Pizza Mania.
Allison Glascock has owned Blue Iris Flowers for 15 years, and calls the damage to her store “minor,” with the two burglars making off with “what little was in our register.” They broke a window to get in, and while she is working with the landlord and insurance company to have it fixed, it is boarded up for now and secure. Blue Iris is open for business as usual.
“We [were] relatively unscathed compared to some of the other businesses here on Frederick,” Glascock told Baltimore Fishbowl in a phone call.
Stanley Dixon is a manager at El Guapo, a Mexican restaurant that was also vandalized. He told Baltimore Fishbowl in a phone call that he was not there on Sunday morning to see the damage, but that a door that was broken is secured with plywood now and they are also open for business as usual.
Glascock noted broad and strong support from neighbors and fellow business owners, saying many people walking by and other business owners stopped by to check on her and the store. While not at liberty to divulge certain details, she is working with two officers and a detective from the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) who have been assigned to the Catonsville Business District. She has turned over her surveillance footage to them.
“This is the first time that a spree of break-ins has happened that I know of,” Glascock said. “I’ve been here on Frederick Road for 15 years, and, you know, every now and again, an individual business might be vandalized, might be broken into, somebody might have something stolen from them, but it’s very uncommon. I can’t put my finger on the last time something like this has happened here on Frederick Road in Catonsville.”
Baltimore Fishbowl has reached out to BCPD for comment and will update the article if they respond.
As for business on Frederick Road in Catonsville, broad consensus in social media posts from shop owners and residents alike is one of overwhelming support for Main Street and the town itself.
“The outpouring of support has just been overwhelmingly amazing. I mean, the community here in Catonsville, so we are incredibly lucky,” Glascock said. “It’s a big town, but we have a small-town vibe, small-town love. We’re very lucky to have that community.”
