Global Courant
Some customers offered hugs and condolences. Others doubled their orders and said they would be back soon.
The stream of customers pouring into Lincoln Fine Wines in Venice on Monday gave owner Nazmul Haque a sense of “normalcy,” two days after a thief broke in and made off with a product worth about $600,000.
“It is terrible to lose 10, 15 years of work overnight. I’m not sure if I will recover emotionally,” said Haque.
The magnitude of the loss became clear on Monday. Drawers normally stocked with bottles were empty, as was most of the store’s 55-degree wine cellar.
Broken glass from a broken display case had been swept up and a five-by-four-foot hole in the basement roof had been patched up with plywood.
At about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, security cameras captured a figure — apparently a man in a mask, black hoodie, and red-billed baseball cap — pulling into the store’s parking lot in an unregistered white pickup truck.
The person climbed on top of storage containers to reach the roof of the store. A hole was cut through the ceiling, straight to the wine cellar, and the thief lowered himself inside with a rope, according to Haque.
In almost four hours, the thief emptied most of the cellar.
According to manager Nick Martinelle, the burglar stole many of the store’s more expensive Burgundy and Bordeaux wines.
For example, a stolen bottle of Chateau Petrus 2016 cost $4,500. There were also brands from the Corton-Charlemagne family, including a 1994 vintage, a 2008 Bonneau du Martray, a 2018 Louis Latour, a 2019 Domaine Roulot, and a 2020 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey. The value of each of those bottles ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
“It took me years to build that collection,” Haque said.
Store owner Nazmul Haque estimates that 60% of his luxury inventory was stolen – a total estimated loss of $600,000.
(Nazmul Haag)
Haque estimated that 60% of his luxury stock had been stolen – a total loss of about $600,000.
“I’ve been working on a list of missing bottles, and that price may go up by the time I’m done,” he said.
Some valuables were spared, including a 1975 Glenfiddich “Rare Collection” single malt whiskey worth $9,000.
Martinelle said the basement was filled with stackable crates that the burglar used throughout the early morning to enter and exit the store.
Some security cameras and sensors were disabled earlier this week by an unknown party, he added.
One sensor was activated at 4 a.m., prompting the security company to call Haque’s home. Haque said he did not hear the call and responded when he received a text message from security at 4:15 am. He arrived at the store within 15 minutes and believes he has deterred the burglar from taking more.
“There were a few crates on the roof, so I think he heard me coming,” said Haque.
Haque and Martinelle said they hoped to complete a list of stolen valuables to distribute to local wholesalers, buyers and auction houses.
“There are some unscrupulous buyers who buy a bottle of wine without question,” Martinelle said. “We just hope that if the wine shows up, we’ll be warned.”
A customer believed on Monday that the burglary was an “inside job”. Haque said he wouldn’t speculate.
“We are going to take all the evidence to the police and let them do their job,” he said.
The security cameras captured this white pickup during the break-in.
(Nazmul Haag)
He did say, however, that “whoever did this was very knowledgeable about the store’s diagram.”
Easily accessible bottles — including recognizable but less expensive offerings like Dom Pérignon Champagne — were left untouched, while more secure drawers were cleaned.
“It was difficult,” Haque said, adding that he would speak with an insurance expert on Wednesday. “Fortunately, the community has supported us.”
Haque said 200 people showed up on Sunday, about twice as many as usual. By 4 p.m. on Monday, another 150 had arrived
Among them were 45-year-old Rebekah Haraczka, a resident of Venice and longtime customer, who felt compelled to send Haque and his associates well wishes.
“This is a community store that has served us well, and it’s heartbreaking that this happened,” said Haraczka, who bought a $15 red. “I just want to help.”
Another resident, Elisa Meyer, said Lincoln Fine Wines has been a welcoming place since she moved to Venice in 2003.
Meyer planned to pick up a single bottle of wine as part of her monthly wine club stipend. Instead, she walked away with four.
“I believe in helping such a wonderful company,” she said. “They didn’t deserve this.”
