Around 20 businesses were burglarized early Monday morning in west suburban Downers Grove, leaving boarded-up doors and windows scattered along the village's commercial business corridor.

The village said around 3:40 a.m., police arrived at the 2900 block of Finley Road for a report of a commercial burglary alarm. Following a check of the alarm and surrounding businesses, it was determined that 20 additional businesses were burglarized throughout Butterfield Road and Ogden Avenue retail corridors.  

One business owner who just moved to the area thought his new location would be safer, but he calls the burglary the "cost of doing business," even though he moved to this location about five months ago.

His security cameras caught the burglars in action. Using what looked like a brick, two burglars smashed the door of Corner Pantry, kicked the rest of the glass in, and snuck inside.

One of the burglars grabbed vape e-cigars and lottery tickets, and the other worked to take the box of cash from under the register, but it was locked.

The two then jumped back over the counter before sliding under the hole they made in the front door. Police called the owner around 3:30 a.m.

"The glass is broken. All the police are standing outside, and those e-cigar things are in the parking lot and when I entered with the officer, I come to behind the counter and they broke the register I can see everything on the floor," owner Chandresh Patel said.

Patel has only been at the Downers Grove location for a few months but says he's been in the business for years. He also mentioned the time someone held a gun to his head in a similar burglary at his previous store in Melrose Park.

"This location is nice, better than Melrose Park, but I never think this store, it would happen like that," he said.

There was a few hundred dollars in the register, but the repairs will cost much more.

"It's part of the business, so one side I feel sad but on the other side it's ok you know it's part of the business so it's no big difference," Patel said.

Around the corner from Patel's business and down the block, a similar scene at multiple storefronts, including a pizza shop, a Smoothie King, and a Premium Cuts Barbershop, is now marked by the same boarded-up door, one they already fixed at Corner Pantry.

Police say they're still looking for the two burglars in the security video. They said the thieves were driving so fast that it was almost impossible to see the license plate on their car.

The village said police are investigating, and no arrests were made. 

Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to contact Downers Grove police at 630-434-5600.