DETRIOIT – When Ron Bartell finished his NFL career with the Lions, his dream was to bring a business back to his old west side neighborhood.
"We wanted to show that you can come back to the neighborhood and think big," said Bartell.
He opened Kuzzo's Chicken and Waffles on Livernois Avenue and the restaurant has become popular among Detroiters.
"I love it here," said Marla Samuel, a Kuzzo's patron. "The food is excellent."
Now that Kuzzo's has done so well, a few small-time criminals were also thinking big.
The restaurant was broken into Tuesday morning around 2 a.m.
READ: Kuzzo's Chicken & Waffles broken into overnight
Two men pried their way in through a backdoor and left with the register drawer. Inside was only a few bucks.
One hour later, another man shows up and enters through the same door. He gets into the office and steals a safe. A dummy safe meant to fool thieves. No money was inside.
"I can't give away all the secrets but we have measures in place," Bartell said. "For the person who broke in, it wasn't even worth it to do it and anybody else for that matter."
Bartell employs 50 people and he has a job offer for the thieves.
"To the individual that did break in, if you want a job, come see me."