Lincoln Park bike shop burglarized twice in a month

A North Side bike shop was burglarized early Tuesday. It is the second time thieves have broken into the store in a month.

A witness told investigators they saw four people break through the front glass door at 4:25 a.m. and enter the shop, located in the 2400 block of North Clark Street, Chicago police said.

They drove off in two vehicles southbound on Lake Shore Drive, police said. The value of the stolen merchandise was not released.

The shop, Cycle Smithy, was last burglarized the morning of Jan. 27, according to a police source.

Police were could not immediately say if the incidents were connected.

After the first burglary, the owner of the shop told ABC7 that two men smashed through the front window, cut a bike lock and took three bikes worth $12,000 as another man stood watch.

“Obviously these are people with a focus of getting in and out pretty quickly and grabbing three nice bikes and hitting the road,” the owner, Mark Mattei, told ABC7.

Mattei reportedly said the shop had taken precautions since the first break-in. Mattei was not immediately available for further comment.

In January, other bike shops were burglarized in the Ravenswood and Lincoln Park neighborhoods on the North Side.

In each case, a group of burglars broke the glass front door and rode off on the bikes, police said.

Two of the break-ins happened in the 4700 block of North Damen Avenue, first about 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 12 and again about 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 23, police said.

Turin Bicycle, 4710 N. Damen, posted about the break-in Jan. 12 on its Facebook page. The shop reported that two of its “Willy” single cross bicycles were stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.