Posted on 07/22/2026 7:37:41 PM PDT by xxqqzz
A longtime deli in South Jersey is temporarily closed after thieves stripped copper wiring and piping from the building, disabling its refrigeration systems and forcing the disposal of roughly $20,000 worth of food, the business said.
Somerdale Cold Cuts has served the community since 1976. The family-owned deli on North Warwick Road has been closed since owner Johnny “Gabagool” Audry discovered the theft, which occurred overnight on July 12, according to the business’s Facebook page.
The thieves never entered the building, Audry said, but they removed enough copper from the exterior refrigeration equipment to disable both the deli’s walk-in refrigerator and deli case.
The loss of refrigeration during a heat wave, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees, left a dumpster full of spoiled deli meats and cheeses outside the shop.
“Once food reaches certain temperatures, it needs to be thrown out,” Audry said.
Audry estimates the deli lost about $20,000 in food alone and is awaiting replacement equipment before it can reopen. Installation was scheduled for July 21 but was delayed by bad weather.
“We want to be open as soon as possible,” he said.
Audry said the theft appeared to be a quick operation, noting that some copper was left behind.
Several businesses and customers offered refrigerated storage space in an effort to help save some inventory.
“I’m overwhelmingly grateful,” he said.
The only items salvaged were about 200 containers of the deli’s chicken salad.
“That was the women and children on the Titanic,” Audry said. “That was my Sophie’s choice of what I had to pick.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Meth heads gonna be Meth heads.
Doesn’t hurt to have a contingency plan in place, since this is a Blue State.
News articles seem to toss the term “beloved’ around a lot lately.
AI tends to use the same words/terms over and over...makes you wonder about the “true author” of this article.
It’s just off Rt. 30 in Camden County for those who know the area.
Should really be the death penalty for crimes such as this.
Indeed, all that Sopressata gone to waste.
Should really be the death penalty for crimes such as this.
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The police have to catch them first.
And for the fences who are creating the market.
The home I was born in is right off Warwick Rd in Stratford, so maybe a mile from this place.
Aunt Bea CALL THE MAN
that area ain’t what it used to be, BooBoo
Everyone with anything worth stealing (i.e., everyone) should think about this next time they think about investing in a security system and put it off because it’s kind of expensive.
A $40 camera could have prevented this disaster.
If you can afford insurance on your business, you can afford surveillance.
It has been occasionally. The thieves sometimes electrocute themselves.
A very third world sort of thing to happen.
Wow, I would have thought chicken salad would be the first to go because of the mayonnaise.
Still, that’s a terrible, antisocial act of thievery and I hope the perps are on camera, caught, convicted and cooled off in the big gray cooler for quite some time.
States ought to bring back hard labor to repay some of these thefts from tiny-margin proprietors.
It's almost like "devout" whenever they see the word "Catholic." Ex. "Biden, a devout Catholic..." Insert Nancy Pelosi, Teddy Kennedy, etc. To whom have they been devoted, other than abortionists and illegal immigrants?
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