SEATTLE — When a rock smashed the window of Capitol Hill's Analog Coffee last month, the owners were left with a $2,000 bill.

But within weeks, they were reimbursed the repair costs thanks to the city of Seattle’s Back to Business program — which has doled out over $1 million over the past year to small Seattle businesses hit by vandalism and break-ins.

Seattle officials say that’s exactly what the city’s program, launched nearly a year ago after a successful run with temporary federal pandemic funds, is designed to do.

For many businesses, “It really could be the difference between someone making their rent or not just because this is such a tough time,” said Analog’s co-owner Danny Hanlon.

But for others, the costs of repairs could run much higher than Analog’s, making the reimbursement insignificant. In response, the city increased the program’s reimbursement limits this month, in a bid to offer more relief to small businesses affected by property crime.

The program, which includes reimbursement funds for storefront repairs and preventative security measures, has been instrumental in some Seattle neighborhoods that have long struggled with property crime.

Christopher Yip, community safety manager for the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area, said the Back to Business program has given 38 of the neighborhood’s small businesses a combined $175,000 so far.

“A lot of the businesses don’t have the money to make these repairs,” he said. “It has been really good. It’s a tangible change that small businesses out here can really feel.”

Still, many say they’d like to see the program’s coverage expanded further in addition to a stronger law enforcement response to property crime.

“There are definitely a lot of businesses that are still struggling,” Yip said.

Building on a temporary program

Property theft and destruction shot up in the aftermath of the pandemic, and storeowners were struggling to foot the bills.

So when the city of Seattle received federal funding to cope with the economic and social fallout of the pandemic, it created the Storefront Repair Fund in October 2022. The city used the nearly $2 million in funding to help reimburse hundreds of small businesses for issues like broken windows and damaged doors.

By mid-2024, the program’s funding had run out, and small-business owners were left paying for repairs out of pocket once again, though property crime remained high.

Then, in August 2025, the city reactivated the fund along with two new funds — all housed under a program called Back to Business. One of the new funds, the Storefront Security Fund, reimburses small businesses for security improvement measures, such as gates and shatter-proof windows. The other fund provides money to neighborhood organizations for improving an area's general public safety and aesthetics.

That meant not only that businesses could again be reimbursed for storefront repairs, but that through this Storefront Security Fund, they could also be reimbursed for security improvement measures.

Eric Moss, a spokesperson for Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, said in an emailed statement that the program is intended to help a business continue operating safely and more securely after being affected by crime.

The program is funded by the city's large employer payroll tax, the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax.

Since the program’s launch last year, it’s disbursed over $1 million, according to Moss.

So far, the city has approved 370 out of 449 repair requests and 67 out of 90 security requests, with some applications still being processed.

This month’s hike in reimbursement limits came after city staff noticed reimbursement checks weren’t covering businesses’ whole expenses.

The city increased the reimbursement limit in its Storefront Repair Fund from $3,000 to $5,000 per incident, and increased the Storefront Security Fund’s limit from $6,000 to $10,000. The repair funds can be tapped up to three times a year per business, while the security improvements are a one-time reimbursement.

The increase will be of major assistance to businesses facing higher repair costs due to inflation and tariffs, Yip said.

‘Just feeling defeated’

Despite the program’s success, many facing repeated break-ins say they’d like to see the city do more as property crime becomes a heavier burden.

Seattle Police Department data shows that property offenses, including stolen and destroyed property, fell 15% from 2022 to 2025.

But many don't believe that means property crime is less of an issue in Seattle.

Each incident of property damage has become more impactful for many business owners as they struggle with a challenging economic environment.

Inflation, tariffs, higher labor costs and rising insurance premiums have made it increasingly difficult for small businesses to operate in a city where commercial retail rents, despite slowing growth, remain high.

Plus, Yip believes the actual number of property crimes in the city is much higher. He’s heard from more businesses that are not reporting property damage.

“Nine times out of 10, if they call, no one shows up. They’re feeling reporting fatigue,” he said. “I don’t think SPD or the city has spent enough time mending these relationships with the people who live out here.”

Lt. Patrick Michaud with the Seattle Police Department said in an emailed statement that the city decided to implement an online reporting function for multiple call types that revolve around property crime to limit the types of calls officers are being dispatched to.

We do not have very many officers on duty at any given time and with that in mind we try to reserve those officers for life safety calls," Michaud said.

He said SPD understands that being asked to file a report online "can be frustrating," but "we always try to get there if you ask for an officer.

Additionally, some Seattle businesses and neighborhoods are targeted more than others, business owners say. Capitol Hill, the downtown commercial corridor and Queen Anne are the areas of Seattle where the most property offenses have been reported since 2020, according to SPD data.

Businesses that face frequent break-ins are often hesitant to report damage to their insurance companies out of fear that their premiums will go up.

Getting away with one attack on a business can lead to copycat crimes on that same location or its neighbors, said Jon Robinson, owner of the Belltown bar Provisions. It has been broken into six times in the past nine months, leaving him with $150,000 in total damage costs, he said.

“It’s not just me. I know I was affected more than most, but it's rampant in Belltown,” he said. “It’s detrimental to all our businesses. This past year, it’s just been wild.”

Ballard Film & Foto’s manager Tim Miranda knows the feeling.

This month, the film store was broken into for the second time this year. Miranda estimates the break-in will cost the store tens of thousands of dollars, but the store doesn’t stand to recover much of that from the city.

Most of the damage occurred inside the store, making those repairs ineligible for the Storefront Repair Fund. And much of the store’s financial loss will result from the stolen antique cameras, Miranda said, which neither fund will cover, according to the city’s website.

“It’s getting harder to get back on our feet,” they said.

Miranda uploaded a video of the sawed-off lock, damaged doors and sparse store shelves to Instagram and explained the store would be closed while they cleaned up. Hopefully, they said, the police could help find their stolen antique cameras.

“But honestly, we haven’t even found the people from the last time we got broken into, so morale is low here,” they told their followers. “I’m just feeling defeated.”

Both Robinson and Miranda said that, because law enforcement’s response to their incidents has felt weak, they’re considering sharing the cost of a security guard with other businesses on their blocks.

Robinson has taken even further measures, having recently spent around $56,000 on remote-controlled metal shutters fortifying his storefront.

“We feel like we’ve been thrown to the wolves,” he said.

But most small businesses in Chinatown-International District can’t afford those measures, Yip said. Security personnel and cameras aren’t covered under the city’s program.

Without additional assistance from the city or SPD, “There’s only so much that we can actually do,” Yip said.

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