Thanks to neighbors, the Lincoln Café, which had changed its opening hours due to crime, will be open late again

LINCOLN, Nebraska (KLKN) – The Black Sheep Cafe on the corner of 27th and Randolph Streets will once again be a nightly pit stop.

The neighbors promised the owner, who was afraid of crime, that they would keep a watchful eye on the business.

The restaurant opened in March and was open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

But the owner, Nora Martinez, stopped serving customers at night due to increased crime in the Woods Park neighborhood.

She said armed teenagers had been robbing people walking around the neighborhood at night.

“People arrived in a car and took their belongings,” Martinez said. “Some people were attacked, for example, beaten with pistols.”

After the robberies, she feared for her own safety and that of her customers.

“I have two boys at home and another one on the way,” she says. “So it's super important for me to be able to come home to them. I never thought I could risk that by going to work.”

Martinez said her income fell by more than a quarter due to the reduction in hours.

“It definitely sucks without the late nights,” she said. “It definitely affected our revenue and it wasn't easy to recover from that.”

However, thanks to the support of her neighbors, she will be open late again.

She said they often came by just to check on her.

“There are a few people in the houses right behind our building,” Martinez said. “And they all came in and said, 'If you ever need anything, I'm right back there. I'll keep an eye out, and if I ever see anything, I'll report it.'”

Martinez said she feels safer now knowing her neighbors are looking out for her.

“The awareness just increased so much and the community really came together when all this happened,” she said.

It plans to slowly resume operations by opening from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. starting Friday.