Police on Tuesday were investigating break-ins at five restaurants in Chicago's North Mayfair neighborhood and at several businesses in north suburban Morton Grove, Illinois early in the morning.

Chicago police confirmed the burglaries took place around 4 a.m. in the Edens Collection shopping center in the 4700 block of West Foster Avenue. Police said a group of people broke the front doors and windows of multiple businesses and stole cash registers. 

Some of the businesses targeted include Smashburger, Teriyaki Madness, Jimmy Johns, Chipotle, and Tropical Smoothie Café. 

As seen on surveillance video, it was 4 a.m. on the dot when a person hurled a heavy object at Teriyaki Madness. The burglar missed the mark and wound up again.

"They busted the window, they came in, they took our register," said Teriyaki Madness manager Johnny Ferrara.

The burglars rummaged through the register at Teriyaki Madness. It had $500 at most in it, Ferrara said.

"Whatever they got isn't really going to break the bank for them," said Ferrara. "They just made a big mistake."

Just four minutes later, surveillance video from Tropical Smoothie Cafe captured the group breaking the front door window and entering the business. The video shows one of the offenders carrying an item that appears to be a cash register. 

The offenders left in a red sport-utility vehicle, police said.

Staff at Teriyaki Madness are eager to help the situation. They believe their restaurant was targeted.

"The person who I think that was sat in that chair about two weeks ago with a friend, and they were looking at the register," Ferrara said. "He didn't order much food but now we have this on camera. We're going to look back at our camera and our register to see if we can find a name."

Chicago Police on Wednesday added three more burglaries to the pattern. Two happened just before 4 a.m. Tuesday in the 4100 block of West Peterson Avenue in Sauganash, the other just after 4 a.m. Tuesday in the 6000 block of North Cicero Avenue in the same neighbrohood.

Burglars also strike in Morton Grove, Illinois; expert emphasizes suburbs aren't immune

The damaging crime spree apparently went well beyond the sprawling Edens Collection shopping center. Morton Grove police confirmed a red Kia Sportage used in the burglaries in the North Mayfair neighborhood also was used in a string of burglaries and break-ins on Dempster Street earlier Tuesday in the northern suburb.

One of the Morton Grove businesses hit early Tuesday was Gold Smokes, in a strip mall at 6101 Dempster St. Owner Syed Shah was awoken in the middle of the night to the sight of burglars on video from his alarm system.

"A couple seconds — I didn't know what to do," Shah said. "Like I was kind of just in shock."

He was shocked to find five men ransacking his business.

"Like why?" Shah said. "What did they gain?"

On the video, the thieves are seen casually stealing items before walking away with the cash register just hours after Shah closed.

"Last night, I was here to midnight myself," he said. "You know, we work hard for everything we do, but it's just annoying when people just kind of feel like they can do whatever they want."

 The boarded-up door at Gold Smokes is not the only one. Morton Grove police said the crew hit up seven businesses along busy Dempster Street within minutes Tuesday morning.

Burglars struck three businesses in the 5800 block of Dempster Street and two others in the 6100 block of Dempster Street between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. In each burglary, the thieves smashed through glass doors or windows, and stole an undetermined amount of cash from the registers.

Police in Morton Grove also were investigating two "criminal damage" incidents at a business in the 5600 block of Dempster Street and a business in the 5800 block of Dempster Street. In each incident, someone cracked the glass on the business' front window, but weren't able to get inside.

"This is first time we've been through something like this, but we're concerned — like, we don't want it to become a trend," said Shah.

At Lit Glass & Vape, a block away at 5644 Dempster St., there was no break-in overnight. But thieves have broken into their business twice since January — and despite security cameras, in all of these cases they are doing very little to deter the burglary crews.

"I definitely feel a little bit more worried than I would have before," Shah said.

That is also because last week, nearly a dozen businesses in north suburban Highland Park were also broken into.

"They're crimes of opportunity," said Anthony Riccio, director of public safety for Monterey Security. "They're 3, 5 a.m. in the morning, few people and vehicles, and police are probably at their thinnest."

Riccio, a former Chicago Police first deputy superintendent, said the smash-and-grabs that started in Chicago are clearly spreading across city lines.

"Just because you're in suburbs doesn't mean you're immune from what's going on in the city," Riccio said. "To think that because you're in suburbs, you're kind of immune to what's going in the city is not true."

Riccio said businesses in the city, along with the CPD, have beefed up awareness, so the crooks are moving elsewhere — and suburban businesses are easier targets.

"They've hit the city. Certain areas are hot," Riccio said. "[They're thinking], 'Let's go out to the burbs where it's a little quieter, where they're not used to this type of crime.'"

In most cases, the thieves are in and out quickly and the owners are left to bear the cost.

"We can put an alarm. We can put cameras," Shah said. "But what more can we do than that?"

Riccio points out that suburban businesses may have to get the security doors seen in many Chicago businesses. While it does not look appealing, it is another deterrent to slow down crooks.

CBS News Chicago checked in late Tuesday with Chicago and Morton Grove police. Neither department had anyone in custody as of late Tuesday night