Beloved Fremont diner burglarized ahead of restaurant week

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Restaurant week is about celebrating local food and one Fremont restaurant owner is not letting an overnight break-in set her back.

In tears, restaurant owner Priscilla Bravo posted a video to Facebook.

For the first time in 10 years, her breakfast diner in Fremont - Skillet'z Café - was broken into.

"I've never had anything stolen from there before, I leave things outside all the time - I leave my signs my menus," Bravo said.

Bravo said checks, the cash register and other miscellaneous things were taken.

"You work very long hours, you work a lot so for someone to take everything that you've earned - it hurts, but you know, karma," Bravo said.

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As owner and manager of two restaurants, Bravo starts her work day at Skillet'z Café and ends it at Billy Roy's Burger Co. On Thursday, Bravo helped organize a community BBQ to kickoff Fremont Restaurant Week.

"You know our city is amazing, our community is so tightknit together," Bravo said.

Mayor Lily Mei said Billy Roy's, a 1-year-old restaurant, is an investment in the community.

"Billy Roy's is a great example of what we can do when we bring people together," Mei said. "This, formally was a service center for a car dealership and to repurpose and to reimagine how we can utilize this space to be able to provide eatery, everything from burgers to shakes."

Despite the break-in, Skillet'z Café is back open Friday. The diner is nestled in the Niles neighborhood - a quaint and historic district where Charlie Chaplin shot his first films.

Further down Niles Boulevard is Fredericos Grill. The Italian restaurant is one of the 45 restaurants participating in Fremont Restaurant Week. Frederico Rodriguez is the owner.

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"It's about passion and love, you have to love food, you have to love community," Rodriguez.

You can tell Frederico loves serving the community around him.

"I always say we make the best ravioli in town," Rodriguez said.

Ana Rescinos lives in Oakland now, but Fredericos is a staple restaurant to her.

"This is so Fremont to me, to my heart, you see the mountains in the back - I love to sit out here. Everything they make is with a Latin flavor," Rescinos said.

Fremont Restaurant Week runs from Friday, March 22 to Sunday, March 31. For a list of restaurants participating, click here.

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