Chicago police have issued a community alert on a string of burglaries this week targeting businesses from the north lakefront to the Southwest Side.

In each incident, four or five burglars have broken into businesses by breaking a glass front door or window with sledgehammers or pry bars, police said.

The burglars have then entered each business and stolen money, cash registers, ATMs, and merchandise, before fleeing in a getaway vehicle.

Two of the burglaries happened early Monday morning at a pair of businesses across the street from each other in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Serai Café and Deli and Big Apple Finer Foods, both on Clark Street just south of Fullerton Parkway, were both hit around 3 a.m. Monday.

The full list of burglaries with times and locations is as follows:

• The 3500 block of North Broadway, Lakeview East, Monday, Jan. 12, at 2:57 a.m.
• Serai's Café and Deli, 2342 N. Clark St., and Big Apple Finer Foods, 2345 N. Clark St., Lincoln Park, Monday, Jan. 12, at 3 a.m.
• The 2600 block of West 39th Place, Brighton Park, Monday, Jan. 12, at 3:22 a.m.
• The 4500 block of South Archer Avenue, Brighton Park, Monday, Jan. 12, at 3:29 a.m.
• The 4400 block of South Western Avenue, Brighton Park, Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 4:23 a.m.
• The 3200 block of South Princeton Avenue, Armour Square, Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 4:41 a.m.

Police said the break-ins involve four to five burglars wearing black ski masks, black hooded sweat shirts, and black pants. They have used a black or purple 2018 Kia Optima and a gray Kia Sorrento as getaway cars.

The manager of Kush Smoke & Tobacco in Brighton Park said he thinks the thieves had been in his shop before, because they knew what they were looking for.

Surveillance video from that burglary shows four men breaking into the business after smashing open the front window with a sledgehammer.

One man jumped over the counter, grabbed the cash register, handed it to another thief, then started taking items from the shelf.

"It's kind of upsetting, you know? I was, like, upset, yeah," said the shop manager, who asked to remain anonymous. "They took a lot of stuff. They took my whole register that has cash in it. They took Backwoods, blunts, loose leaf, quite expensive lighters, and some of the disposables, and the nitrous tanks as well."

A total of four men carried out the crime. Two were dressed in white from head to toe, the other two wore all black.

"They have guts to do all this in front of the busy road. So while I was checking the camera, I saw that the cars were going through, but it doesn't matter to them, I guess. They broke the whole thing. They broke my grille," the manager said.

Between the stolen merchandise and the damage to the store, the burglary cost the business about $4,500.

"I think if they got caught, it would be like, you know, they would never do that again, that's what I think," the manager said. "That's what I'm hoping."

Anyone with information should call Wentworth Area detectives at 312-747-8384, or Belmont Area detectives at 312-744-8263, or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com. using reference # 26-CWP-003.

The video above is from a previous report.