Big Pauly's Pizza Vandalized For 2nd Time In Less Than 2 Years

PLAINFIELD, IL — Big Pauly's Wood Fired Pizza, a Plainfield establishment since 2017, was broken into this week for the second time in less than two years, its owner told Patch.

On Wednesday night, owner Paul Horwath left his restaurant at 9 p.m. — an hour after doors closed to customers. Just after 11 p.m., he got a call from his security provider, saying movement was detected at the business.

By the time he was leaving his home, the police called, urging him to come because there was shattered glass in front of the building.

In the minute and a half the suspect was in the business, a person in a mask and gloves tore out a cash register from the front of the shop and a secondary one that acts as a punch clock for employees. Both were empty.

The incident left four of Big Pauly's eight front windows shattered. Now with the business boarded up, Horwath voiced concerns that customers might see the damage and not want to patronize his pizzeria.

It's the second time Big Pauly's, on Route 59 just south of downtown Plainfield, was broken into. The first instance occurred Jan. 31, 2025. Someone broke into the neighboring unit, which was empty at the time, cut a hole through the wall to enter Big Pauly's dining room, and then smashed into the office. They were inside the restaurant for less than 2 minutes and stole a "small amount of currency" and a laptop, according to Plainfield police and Horwath.

Of the business's sales, only about 2 percent are made in cash, according to Horwath.

"It seems that [burglars] assume there are buckets of cash in these businesses," he said of liquor stores and pizzerias.

Horwath estimated the damage caused by the burglar to be between $6,000 and $10,000.

"What did they gain?" he said.

A suspect later fled the plaza at a high rate of speed, but the driver eluded police, Horwath said. One of his neighbor's Ring cameras showed similar footage."Being a business anywhere is ... hard work, but dealing with this stuff adds tens of hours to your weeks and months," he said.

"Hopefully they catch this person," Horwath said.

Plainfield police conducted an investigation into the first break-in but did not identify an offender, thus closing the case on Sept. 17, 2025, Cmdr. Kevin McQuaid told Patch. The department is now looking into the most recent incident.