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Cathy Wurzer
St. Paul

Blizzard burglars bust up Twin Cities bakery

Burglars caused damage, stealing cash and checkbooks.
Burglars broke into Muddy Paws Cheesecake in St. Louis Park, Minn., during the April blizzard on April 14, 2018, cutting through the metal roof, breaking through the ceiling, stealing cash and checkbooks and breaking through the front door to get out.
Courtesy of Tami Cabrera

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Workers at Muddy Paws Cheesecake shop were cleaning up more than just snow on Monday. The popular St. Louis Park bakery was the target of a robbery during Saturday's blizzard.

Owner Tami Cabrera said at first they thought the roof had caved in due to the heavy snowfall. But they discovered burglars had cut through the roof and dropped through the ceiling, taking the lights and electrical wires with them.

"They think it happened around two in the morning Saturday," said Cabrera. "Right during the big snow storm, which is kind of the bizarre part of it."

Muddy Paws Cheesecake Shop is cleaning up after a robbery.
Tami Cabrera, the owner of the popular St. Louis Park cheesecake bakery Muddy Paws, said she was shocked by the support from the community after the bakery was burglarized early Saturday morning. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $14,000 to help Cabrera make repairs to her business.
Courtesy photo

Cabrera said the burglars took cash and checkbooks. Luckily, they didn't touch the 300 cheesecakes. Those will still be delivered to customers this week.

The burglars also tried to break through the walls to get into other businesses. Then they apparently locked themselves out and had to break through the front door to get back in.

Cabrera said a lot of cleanup is required, but the shop is still in business.

"We had luckily made about three hundred cakes last week, and had those stock and all of our orders done, so even though parts of the bakery are not functional, we're able to still be up and running," said Cabrera.

Cabrera said she's grateful for donated kitchen space and the creation of a GoFundMe page set up by another bakery. St. Louis Park police are investigating the break-in.

Burglars broke into Muddy Paws Cheesecake during the April blizzard.
Burglars broke into Muddy Paws Cheesecake in St. Louis Park, Minn., during the April blizzard on April 14, 2018, cutting through the metal roof, breaking through the ceiling, stealing cash and checkbooks and breaking through the front door to get out.
Courtesy of Tami Cabrera

Cabrera says she doesn't know how much it will cost to repair all the damage yet, but the GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $14,000 to help them get back on their feet.

"I'm overwhelmed and without words. I'm just so touched and so grateful," she said. "I'm just so thankful."

While Cabrera has insurance, she said it likely won't cover damage to the building. It may cover items in the bakery like cake stands, but she said filing a claim can also cause a restaurateur to lose her license.

"It's kind of a Catch-22 with restaurants. If you make a claim, you'll pretty much lose your insurance and it can cost thousands of dollars to get it back," Cabrera said.