Burglars smash windows at 2 Costa Mesa Flame Broilers; safe is missing from one

Two Flame Broiler fast-food restaurants in Costa Mesa were broken into early Friday, according to police.

Police were alerted to the first burglary around 5:15 a.m. when someone reported glass breaking in the 3100 block of Harbor Boulevard.

Officers found that the front window of the Flame Broiler there had been smashed with a rock, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Doug Johnson said.

The burglars were gone when police arrived, but security camera footage showed a dark sedan had pulled up to the restaurant with possibly three people inside before one of them — wearing a gray hoodie — got out and smashed the window, Johnson said.

The burglars then tried to remove a safe that was secured to the restaurant floor, but they were unable to pry it up so they left empty-handed, according to police.

At 6:38 a.m., police got a call about a broken window in the 1100 block of Baker Street, Johnson said.

This time, a window at another Flame Broiler was smashed and the safe was missing, Johnson said.

Police said they’re trying to get security footage from the second restaurant but haven’t been able to contact the owner.

Investigators aren’t sure whether the two break-ins are related, Johnson said. Police said they haven’t received reports of burglaries at any other Flame Broilers in the city.