PORTLAND, Ore. — Damala Badon has always been an avid baker. In 2018 she opened DB Dessert Company on Northeast Glisan and 68th Avenue.
"That was a dream come true,” said Badon. "We are a custom bakery. We specialize in custom cakes, cupcake, cookies and brownies."
Badon didn't stop there, opening a second location on Northeast Alberta two years later.
"Definitely was not an easy feat to open our first location, and even harder to do our second," explained Badon.
Like other businesses, sales suffered during the pandemic, so Badon pivoted her business model to delivery and curbside pickup.
"That was one of our biggest blows, not only being a business dealing with this pandemic like everyone else, but a new business dealing with this pandemic,” she said.
Just when Badon thought the worst was over, another unexpected blow came. On Monday morning, she got a call from Portland Police that the Glisan location had been burglarized.
"In a very barbaric way. Our front door was kicked in pretty viciously," she said.
So much so, the door almost split in half. She says the inside was also damaged and vandalized.
"To have to deal with something like this at this time is definitely kicking somebody when they're down," she said.
A security camera caught the burglar but the footage is too grainy to identify the person. Badon says repairing the damage will be the the hardest part, and they are missing a few items from the store.
She has been at the location for a few years and though she's dealt with graffiti this is the first burglary. While it may have been a rough start to the year it certainly is not enough to deter Badon.
"I'm extremely hopeful we will figure this out. We always do, I mean we’ve going through a pandemic for two years, this is not the thing that will stop us.”
Badon hopes to reopen the Glisan location as soon as repairs are done. The second location of DB Dessert Company on Northeast Alberta and 26th is still open for business.