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At what point is enough truly enough? A Seattle coffee shop owner has been asking that question lately after a string of break-ins.

Rebecca Smith is the co-owner of , a shop with three Seattle locations. A trendy coffee shop in Seattle is bound to have a great customer base. However, Smith says in recent years, customers are being chased away due to routine break-ins.

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鈥淲e were getting broken into every two weeks,鈥� Smith said. 聽鈥淎nd realistically, we still are, but the problem we face is that they smashed our window, which is a minimum of $1,000 to fix.鈥�

Armistice would also lose its cash till with each incident鈥攁n item that costs $300 to replace. Not to mention the cash contents that would be taken out of Armistice鈥檚 bottom line.

So, Smith did what any business owner would do in a similar spot to reduce the risk. Armistice decided to stop taking cash payments.

鈥淸We were] mitigating the loss, and we weren’t really sure what steps we could take as a business to prevent break-ins,鈥� Smith told the Jason Rantz Show. 鈥淭here really aren’t any [steps], so this was just one that was like, ‘okay, let’s try it.’鈥�

This move was done out of simple self-preservation and yet it still drew ire from the community.

鈥淚 had a personal attack on the business because of that,鈥� Smith said of the move to cashless. 鈥淚 was drug through the mud on many Facebook neighborhood groups, because I was isolating homeless people.鈥�

Perception is just the proverbial rotten cherry on top in this situation. Smith has problems that threaten her livelihood that a depleted police force, among other issues, is not helping.

In a city where the coffee giants run the industry, the little guy is already at a disadvantage. Constant break-ins have led small business owners to be discouraged and some even close up shop.

鈥淚 do think it’s going to get worse for everyone before it gets better,鈥� Smith said.

What would solve this problem?

Maybe the answer is murky. I find it hard to believe that a fully staffed police force would let things of this nature happen with such regularity.

No, it鈥檚 not a 鈥渇ix-all鈥� solution, and let鈥檚 not even get into the City of Seattle鈥檚 budget, but the ability to increase neighborhood patrols would no doubt make things safer and help support a culture where small businesses can thrive.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.