Bascom Avenue Bar Hit by Sixth Break-in

Daniel Ramirez said two burglars smashed into Burbanks Bites and Billiards on South Bascom Avenue in San Jose at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, stole cash from the safe and left the bar and grill with about $10,000 in losses. Video shared by the business showed two people forcing their way inside, according to NBC Bay Area. Ramirez, a co-owner, said the damage and stolen money hit funds he uses to pay workers and vendors. He said the break-in was the sixth at the business in the two years since it opened. ### What did the burglars take this time? Ramirez told NBC Bay Area that earlier break-ins at Burbanks Bites and Billiards involved stolen liquor bottles, but this time the burglars got into the safe. He said the total loss from stolen cash and damage was about $10,000. “It honestly broke my heart,” Ramirez said, adding that the cash inside was meant for payroll and suppliers. (nbcbayarea.com) Sunday’s burglary was captured on video, NBC Bay Area reported, and the footage showed two people smashing their way into the business. The station said the break-in happened early in the morning before the business opened. ### How often has this happened on Bascom Avenue? Burbanks Bites and Billiards has been hit six times in two years, Ramirez told NBC Bay Area. (nbcbayarea.com) He said nearby businesses have also dealt with break-ins, including a taco shop next door that told the station it had been targeted several times over the last couple of years. Ramirez said repeated burglaries in the area were “starting to become a normal thing.” Bascom Avenue businesses have surfaced in other NBC Bay Area reports on burglary cases in San Jose. In March 2025, Hype Liquors on the 1200 block of Bascom Avenue was reported broken into, according to NBC Bay Area. In September 2024, owners of South Bay bars told the station they believed the same suspects were behind a string of break-ins at bars in San Jose, including The Office Bar & Lounge, Park Lane Lounge and Branham Lounge. San Jose police said at the time they were investigating but would not say whether the cases were connected. (nbcbayarea.com) ### What have other San Jose bar owners said? Mike Downing, owner of Mike’s Place in San Jose, told NBC Bay Area in August 2024 that his bar had been broken into four times by that point. He said thieves had stolen a safe containing thousands of dollars and memorabilia, and in another incident took a change machine. “It’s been a terrible month and a half,” Downing told the station. (nbcbayarea.com) Dana Twidwell, owner of Park Lane Lounge, told NBC Bay Area in September 2024 that burglars destroyed an $8,000 jukebox and got only $21 from it. Antoine Riffis, owner of Branham Lounge, told the station he wanted more police patrols and that bar owners had been sharing video and details with one another as they compared incidents. ### What has the city said about the latest burglary? (nbcbayarea.com) Michael Mulcahy, who Ramirez said represents the area, said in a statement to NBC Bay Area that his office would work to make sure the incident and the Bascom Avenue area “receives the attention they deserve.” NBC Bay Area said it had reached out to San Jose police and had not heard back. Ramirez said he filed a police report after the burglary. (nbcbayarea.com) The San Jose Police Department says crime data posted through CrimeMapping.com is updated daily from its records system, though incidents may take time to appear after they are reported and entered. The department says the site reflects official records rather than every call for service. ### What is Ramirez doing next? Ramirez told NBC Bay Area he has already installed extra cameras after the latest break-in. (nbcbayarea.com) He said the next step may be adding interior security gates so people looking through the windows see another barrier inside. The police report Ramirez filed would be the next formal step in the case, and any incident record would later feed into the San Jose Police Department’s public crime-mapping system once it is processed, according to the department’s description of how the database is updated. (sjpd.org) (nbcbayarea.com)