Three beloved South Philly restaurants are at risk after theft of two vans critical to their operations

A refrigerated van was stolen in the night. For a city caught in a homicide crisis, this was petty crime. But for three restaurant owners, it was the last of several devastating thefts that have left their small businesses reeling.

Without the vehicles, Marcos Tlacopilco, who travels to either New York or Maryland thrice weekly, has difficulty getting the fresh fish he needs for his restaurants, Marco’s Fish Market & Crab House and Alma Del Mar. The seafood restaurant, named for his wife, Alma Romero, garnered fame when it was featured for a makeover on the fifth season of Netflix’s Queer Eye.

» READ MORE: Alma del Mar, a restaurant designed by the ‘Queer Eye’ cast, is a family affair in the Italian Market

Nacho Flores, who opened Los Taquitos de Puebla in 2020, struggles with buying food and supplies.

“My van was stolen in February and a few days ago, Mrs. Alma’s work van was stolen, so we cannot buy another van to do the shopping for our businesses,” Flores said.

That’s the reason behind the trio’s $45,000 crowdfunding campaign, which has been verified by GoFundMe.

As of Thursday, 37 donors had given $1,377, but less than one out of four crowdfunding campaigns reaches its goal. For the restaurant owners, the largest contributor, at $150, is Jill Fink, executive director of the Merchants Fund, a nonprofit grant-making organization that has also provided emergency funding to Tlacopilco.

“I am a former small-business owner so I have a lot of empathy and understanding for the challenges of small business. I know how something like a stolen truck can be devastating,” Fink said.

“The struggles that face small entrepreneurs are often invisible,” said Kersy Azocar, president and CEO of Greenline Access Capital, whose loan clients are all Latino and immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. “The stealing of a vehicle shouldn’t be a crisis, but it is because small businesses don’t have savings.”

Angel Ballesteros, a commercial corridor manager whose South Philadelphia territory includes the restaurants’ Italian Market community, said that after the pandemic he began to hear of an uptick in crime: “Robberies may have happened in the middle of the night, vehicles have been stolen, shops have been broken into, and other situations.”

Ballesteros recalled that Flores’ van was stolen — twice.

The first time was last August, only a month after his restaurant was broken into. The vehicle was recovered and still usable. But it was stolen again in February, when it was loaded with supplies, Ballesteros said. This time police recovered a wreck.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia Mexican Business Association members met with public officials and police over public safety concerns

Tlacopilco’s refrigerated van was stolen in July.

“Now, without the truck, Marcos and Alma’s business is at stake. Nacho also cannot make required pickups for his restaurant’s ingredients,” read the GoFundMe campaign’s narrative.

Azocar said that there are several reasons the GoFundMe total has not grown more. The restaurants’ customers are not necessarily able to give a significant amount. GoFundMe’s average pledge is $66. She added that crowdsource funding is not part of the Latino culture.

Also, it is difficult for a small business to take the time to increase public awareness of the funding campaign while trying to keep a business afloat.

“It has made things 10 times more difficult,” Ballesteros said of the theft. “[Nacho] is like enduring, and he wants to overcome. He works hard. I don’t think he will cry but he is very emotional in his way.”