Vandals use stolen construction equipment to damage Missouri City coffee shop's drive-thru

MISSOURI CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- The Missouri City community is rallying for a business owner after vandals used construction equipment to go on a rampage, damaging a building that is home to two businesses: a bank and a coffee shop.

Bean Here Coffee and Wellby Financial are located in a building off Highway 6 at Sienna Ranch Road.

You've heard the saying "when it rains, it pours" -- and that's how Mike Ouano, the owner of Bean Here Coffee, said he felt after seeing the damage to the drive-thru.

Faithful customers, though, are making the tough situation sweeter.

Early Monday morning, Ouano got a call from an employee saying the drive-thru of their Highway 6 location was blocked by an excavator.

"One of the police officers told me, he was like, 'You might want to come over here,'" Ouano said. "By the time we got here, there were at least a dozen police cars. I was like 'OK, something is definitely wrong.'"

Video from the scene shows what's left of the drive-thru the coffee shop shares with Wellby Financial. The arm of the excavator smashed the drive-thru's awning.

Police told Ouano that it seems someone stole the excavator from a nearby construction site and took it on a joyride, doing some serious damage.

Now, the drive-thru is closed until repairs can be made.

"This is one of those things where like, if you don't love what you do, I probably would have given up a very, very long time ago," Ouano said.

The drive-thru damage comes on the heels of a broken A/C at another Bean Here Coffee location the day before and what Ouano says has been a really tough summer as a business owner -- dealing with being short staffed and other equipment breaking.

On Tuesday morning, though, there was a line of customers who showed up to support the business.

"Mike is a person who is always doing anything he can to help support the community," customer Michelle said. "So, it seemed like a moment when it would be good to come and support Mike."

Ouano said his favorite part about the coffee business is the people -- so their support is special.

"The fact that people are out here supporting us, showing their support, giving us their well wishes -- that means a lot to me. It at least tells me that we are doing something right," he said.

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