Robberies are up with rise of small convenience stores

♦ Local business owner Affan Arif shares his perspective on the trend.

An attempted armed robbery inside the Mi Tienda convenience store on Shorter Avenue highlighted some of the dangers associated with running a 24-hour operation, even in Rome.

The owner of Mi Tienda, Affan Arif, said that he feels the reasons for the number of break-ins are twofold.

“First of all, it’s the holidays and there are more people out late, maybe drinking, and more willing to break the law,” said Arif. “However, there are also a lot more convenience stores in Rome.”

Arif stated that lots of his friends in the convenience store business are coming to Rome because they believe that it’s growing, and will continue to grow. Arif has been in the convenience store business for almost 18 years, moving to Rome over a decade ago, but owning and operating stores in Atlanta for 5 to 6 years prior to that.

Born in Pakistan, Arif said he moved to the U.S. with his father when he was 1 or 2 years old. His mother stayed in Pakistan to care for elderly relatives and continue her law practice.

“Every time a new convenience store opens, it’s the sign that a family is tying their fortune to Rome’s and believes that we will continue to grow,” said Arif.

The attempted robbery came during an uptick in burglaries and break ins at convenience and liquor stores around the holidays.

Early Tuesday, a convenience store on the 1900 block of Shorter Avenue was burglarized. Thieves used a crowbar to open up the back door. They stole an estimated $1,200 in lottery tickets and $3,500 in cash from the store and $1,625 in tobacco products.

Recently, Cheers Liquors on Shorter Avenue was burglarized, with the front door and window being smashed with a rock. The thieves stole $500 worth

of lottery tickets and did approximately $1,500 worth of damage to the store’s door and windows.

And on Nov. 17, 2022, the Shell gas station on U.S. 411 was robbed when someone broke the window and stole lottery tickets, Black and Mild cigars and some cash.

There have been several other robberies, usually with the same results.

Arif also thinks that part of the problem might be with language — with many convenience store owners not having the language skills to effectively communicate with police, who might have insights in how to prevent these types of crimes.

But Arif is optimistic, “These are just some of the problems of a growing city.”