Small Business Owner

A Milwaukee small business owner is trying to rebuild after a group of women broke into her salon near 85th Street and Capitol Drive Saturday.The break-in at “Aesthetics Setting” was caught on the salon owner’s surveillance camera. WISN 12 News is not naming the salon owner, or showing her face because she’s afraid for her safety. “I never even imagined experiencing something like this,” the owner said.She said an employee called her Friday night at about 6:30 p.m., panicked and hiding in a back room as the group broke in. She says the group shattered the front glass door. Video shows five women storm in while screaming and threatening violence. Two more women wait in the hallway.The group notices the camera and pulls it from the wall. The camera cuts off. Then, the salon owner said, the women trashed the lobby. She said the group broke tables and picture frames, and punched holes in the wall before leaving shortly after.”This is something that I worked so hard for. For someone to just come in and destroy my things like that? That’s not ok,” the salon owner said. She filed a police report and said Milwaukee police came to her salon Friday night to investigate. Now, she has to reschedule client appointments and pay for an estimated thousands of dollars of repairs to her salon. “Some people don’t recover from things like that,” said her friend Charese Gardner. Gardner owns a bar downtown and multiple other businesses.”The same passion that she had to start this, she’s going to need that same passion to finish strong,” Gardner said. “Whatever disagreement they were having, was it all worth it to break another woman down and have her start all over again? I don’t know.”The business owner is asking anyone with any information to give Milwaukee police a call. She has also started a GoFundMe to help recover costs. This is a developing story. WISN 12 News has reached out to Milwaukee Police and will update as more information becomes available.