Mindy's Hot Chocolate Suffers Overnight Break-in, Shattered Doors

An attempted burglary struck Mindy's Hot Chocolate early this morning, resulting in the shattering of the front doors and a ransacked office—and the only item stolen was a bottle of Armagnac brandy. The restaurant was scheduled to close this week for its annual winter break, and owner Mindy Segal is planning to repair the damage in time to reopen on schedule next week.

Executive chef Amanda Barnes left Hot Chocolate after her shift last night for a drink nearby and saw the damage when she later returned around 2 a.m. for her bag, according to a Hot Chocolate representative. A Chicago Police Department spokesperson confirms that "officers responded to a burglary at 1747 N. Damen and filed a report," although she's waiting for the detailed police report to enter the CPD database.

Segal says she "was told that there has been a string of similar situations in the area recently." She's installing security cameras at Hot Chocolate today.

[UPDATE: Hot Chocolate will reopen for brunch service on Sunday then resume regular hours.]