2 Beverly businesses suffer financial pressure and unbearable heat after copper thieves attack

Bronagh Tumulty and Alonzo Small

40 minutes ago

CHICAGO – A couple of Beverly business owners are speaking out after they fell victim to copper thieves trying to steal something that is vital this time of year: air conditioning.

A quick fix for crooks turned into a nightmare for the two women. They say it will likely cost them thousands of dollars to make things right again.

Allison Papara runs Made Artisan Collaborative, a jewelry treasure trove.

“You name it, we have it,” she said.

“We’ve lost revenue and sales, and so have the artists,” Papara told WGN News. “It breaks my heart.”

Made Artisan Collaborative supports dozens of very creative people.

“Over 43 different artists from all over Chicago and the Chicago area and a good portion come from Beverly,” Papara said.

The thieves targeted the air conditioning units at the rear of the building, which resulted in significant revenue losses over the past three weeks.

“It’s easily over $6,000,” Papara said. “We’ve had to close a lot. We’re open on days we can bear it… We’ve had to close a lot of days because there have been a lot of days where it’s over 90 degrees and that’s just unbearable.”

Possibly even more unbearable when you’re trying to make ice cream next door. The theft also affected Ohana Ice & Treats.

“The total cost of lost income, inventory and replacement was well over $45,000,” said Keynn Cain, who runs Ohana Ice & Treats with her husband.

On the same day, the copper in their air conditioning system was also damaged.

The theft left the store unable to operate, devastating for Keynn Cain, the 15 children who work for her, and customers like Abigail Klinkerman who stop by to cool off.

“It’s kind of disappointing,” Klinkerman said of the unfortunate store closure.

The hope is that after a costly repair – costing several thousand – things will be back up and running next week. Both companies have now launched separate GoFundMe campaigns – Made Artisan Collaborative and Ohana Ice & Treats – to close the gap caused by loss of income.