MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Odds Atelier in downtown Memphis was robbed early Wednesday morning.
Odds Atlier is not only a clothing store, but a community event space and now it's the third street wear clothing store robbed in the last three months.
"Around five, five-thirty in the morning. We got a call from the alarm saying someone had breached the inside of the building unexpectedly. We rushed down here," owner Matthew Roumain said. “Our front window was completely shattered. When we entered the store, everything was in complete disarray. We had clothing on the floor, everything was cleaned out on the showroom floor."
The owners said they’d just prepared to begin their holiday sales.
“Coming in and seeing something you worked so hard for being dismantled before you; taken without cause," Cornelius Martin said. "Just trying to figure out how to put it all together as soon and quickly as possible. Especially being as though we’re in our peak season in the industry that we’re in when it comes to retail."
The owners said an unknown value of the merchandise was stolen but in video obtained by ABC24, you can see the intruders exiting through the shattered front door with their faces hooded and with bundles of clothing in hand.
The owners aren’t letting up they’re taking a devastating setback and using it for a greater learning opportunity.
Martin said that as black business owners, they have to “figure out a way to collaborate with the community and give individuals an opportunity to understand a little bit more about business and get a better understanding about how it actually works."
Martin said it's about "persevering and we’re going to continue to fight this fight. The brand is here baby.”