Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

Oakland Kosher, the only kosher butcher shop remaining in the Bay Area and a lifeline for Jews who keep kosher in the East Bay and beyond, was burglarized early Wednesday morning on Oakland’s Lakeshore Avenue.

Two cash register drawers containing an undisclosed amount of money were ripped from the counter, co-owner Gary Freeman told J.

A Chinese restaurant on the same strip of Lakeshore Avenue was also hit. Oakland police told KTVU they were called Wednesday morning to investigate the crimes.

Freeman said he was running a little late, showing up at 7:15 a.m. “I usually get there earlier,” he said.

When he arrived, he saw the glass from the front door had been neatly removed and he went right in, something he now says was “stupid.”

“They could have still been in there,” he said.

Freeman said he thought the thieves were professional, quietly removing glass from the front door instead of breaking it to enter.

“The person, or persons, were very astute,” he said.

Burglars ransacked several stores along Lakeshore Avenue including Oakland Kosher Foods. My butcher told me that money was taken. pic.twitter.com/OvOt5BqVWe

— Lisa Fernandez (@ljfernandez) November 2, 2022

No video was captured inside Oakland Kosher, and Freeman would only say that “some” money was taken, though the two cash register drawers the thieves grabbed will have to be replaced.

Established in 1962, Oakland Kosher operates a butcher shop and market. Two years ago the store expanded; Freeman and co-owner Yuval Atias took over the next-door storefront to create Abba’s Hummus, a hummus bar and deli with prepared food. They also increased space for the store’s selection of Israeli and American kosher snacks, frozen food and dry goods.