Redmond business owner begs for bollards in saga of smash-and-grabs
Redmond business owner seeks help after repeated smash-and-grabs
A Redmond cannabis shop owner says his business has been hit by at least six smash-and-grab crashes, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Frustrated by what he calls delays and restrictions from the city on installing protective bollards, the owner is now asking the community to contact city leaders and help push for solutions to prevent future thefts.
REDMOND, Wash. - A Redmond business owner said thieves have targeted his store over and over again smashing through the storefront and leaving a major mess.
When it comes to stopping them, he said he can't do much more because the city won't let him.
Now, he wants your help.
"It's a really distressing feeling to be sweeping up glass at four in the morning over and over again," Logan Bowers said.
Bowers has replayed the nightmare at Hashtag Cannabis too many times: a stolen car, a busted storefront, and a city he said won't approve the bollards he's been begging for.
Bollards are metal posts that can stop cars.
By the numbers:
"Across all of these crashes and fighting with the city, we're easily in $500,000 and I would say that the city is probably in $100,000 to $200,000 in taxpayer money to fight us," Bowers said.
The shop has been hit six times in downtown Redmond and it's all on camera.
Now, he's displaying a poster asking you to call or email city leaders.
It's also being shared around the community with a letter on the back explaining the battle for his business.
"The first crash was in September of 2023," Bowers said.
Redmond, WA store owner calls for city action to stop robberies
Bowers has pleaded with the City of Redmond to allow him to install bollards to stop these smash-and-grabs.
He installed small concrete barriers, called eco-blocks, and he said the city removed them once. Then, he installed more of them.
Bowers said that led to a cease-and-desist order, but they've been allowed to stay for now.
What they're saying:
"The city came and moved them up against the building, so that's kind of where they are right now. We again warned them that that was unsafe and then, in February 2025, a car backed up right here," Bowers told FOX 13 News. "They didn't get in, they ran it on this eco-block, but it did damage the building and did another $30,000 worth of damage."
That's the last time — so far.
All of this, despite a city resolution passed in 2024, meant to help with a permitting process for bollards.
FOX 13 News contacted the City of Redmond for an update on where this process stands for Bowers.
A spokesperson shared a statement with us:
"The City remains committed to balancing business security needs with pedestrian safety and compliance with public right of way standards. We have been open to and in discussions with Hashtag over the past year and a half to find an agreeable solution. Redmond is continuing in its review of materials from Hashtag for consideration of permitting."
For Bowers, there's already a vision of what could be.
"We would like to put some bollards kind of like here, so that protects all of the sidewalk and then we would like to put some bollards here to protect this corner," he said.
He hopes his flyers and letters will get your attention and soon: the city's.
"They've been fighting us tooth and nail, so we're finally reaching out to our neighbors," Bowers said.
There are still eco-blocks outside of the Hashtag store for now, but he said those are just a temporary solution and the city also wants those eventually to be moved out.
"The only reason they're still here now is because we have a dispute over a long-term permit for what to do for the long-term, that they agreed that they would let the eco-blocks stay until that's resolved," Bowers said.
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