*Two burglaries hit The Lumpia Company in Oakland early Sunday, leaving the restaurant without key equipment and thousands of dollars in losses. According to SFGate, the business is co-owned by rapper E-40 and chef Alex Retodo.
Retodo shared surveillance footage on Instagram that appears to show two people carrying items through the restaurant during closed hours. He asked the public for help identifying the individuals and described the emotional toll of the theft in a message to customers.
“We won’t lie—this one hurts,” Retodo wrote. He added that theft affects more than a business’s physical space. “When people steal from a small business, they’re not just taking equipment—they’re taking from the employees, the customers, the community events, and the dreams behind it all.”
Retodo told KRON the burglars struck the restaurant twice that morning and stole thousands of dollars worth of property. The theft also disrupted the restaurant’s planned World Cup kickoff event. Retodo said the stolen equipment included items needed to screen matches for customers.
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“We wanted to open with a bang today, playing the [World Cup] games, but we had to turn customers away,” he told KRON. “We had a party outside; made it happen, but it wasn’t the same.”
Retodo also recalled hearing from E-40 shortly after news of the break-in spread.
“My partner called me on his jet and said, ‘Hey, what happened?’ He’s like, ‘I saw the news,’” Retodo said. “I said, ‘E-40, we are going to be OK.’”
The restaurant will pause karaoke nights, movie screenings, and comedy shows until it replaces the stolen equipment. Food service, however, remains unaffected.
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