Portland, OR coffee shop closes after break-in

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A coffee shop in downtown Portland is temporarily closed after they say a man broke in and caused about $50,000 in damages.

Lotus and Bean’s owner Jen Causey tells KOIN 6 that the person who broke into the building also broke windows and destroyed nearly everything in the shop.

“He dropped in here and couldn’t get out. He was clearly on something … grabs the fire extinguisher and doused the entire place. He destroyed everything in the store,” said Causey, who has had the shop for 11 years. “I don’t have any solutions, I just know that people who do this violence shouldn’t be out on the streets.”

Portland police say they responded to a disturbance at this coffee shop around 4 a.m. on July 18th. When they arrived at the scene, police located the suspect, 38-year-old Jason Werder, and took him into custody.

Werder has a lengthy criminal history including multiple menacing, harassment and possession of methamphetamine charges.

“It seems like if you have a long rap sheet you should be kept from running around,” Causey said.

Causey says they commonly deal with situations where people come into the store in a mental health crisis. She said in 2021, someone came into the store and punched her. She also says other shops in the area have to deal with this frequently.

An employee at a nearby florist told KOIN 6 that downtown has gotten “scarier” in the last couple of years.

“I try not to be down here after dark,” Avalon Flowers employee Haley Jones said.

Lotus and Bean will re-open on Aug. 11.