Mackenzie Hardt at his Aurora bike shop where a series of break-ins prompted Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman to pay him a visit.

After a series of break-ins at his cyclery shop in northwest Aurora, Mackenzie Hardt changed store policy to admit customers by appointments only—no walk-in business.

This week, one of those appointments included Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who Hardt says “came just to chat. I didn’t expect the mayor to come in and solve my problems. I wanted him to see on the ground what the problem is and to see where the resources need to be.”

Customers, neighbors, and nearby business owners have been putting pressure on city leaders after hearing of the five recent thefts at Hardt Family Cyclery, located at the Central Park Collective at 2525 Geneva St. The most recent crime happened this month when a truck was driven into the garage door of the building and five bicycles were stolen. The community pressure, Hardt says, helped lead to Coffman’s visit, which the store owner says was “an opportunity for me to explain to him what I am seeing day to day on the micro level while he’s focused on the macro level. He came in with a notebook and a pencil and took a ton of notes, and I really appreciate that.”

Coffman was also joined by Police Area Representatives, the police term for officers responsible for establishing bonds with the community.

They talked about overall police response and the lack of what Hardt calls preventative policing by patrol officers.

“It’s all reactive,” Hardt says. “It’s all putting out fires and reacting to things. They’re telling me that the cops are typically 40 calls behind and need to respond to calls that involve a weapon or certain types of active crimes of violence.”

Hardt is grateful to Coffman for listening. “I would have liked to have heard some better answers from him, but I know he wants to follow up with me in the future. I did not expect him to come in, try to fix the problem, and tell me, ‘This is what you should be doing.’ I do feel it was genuine, that he wanted to know why this is happening? Because I think he does understand this is new. It’s ongoing, and we don’t expect it to stop anytime soon.”

For Hardt, the answer for now is the appointment-only approach, which he says has been safer but not good for his business which is down from previous years. “August should be our busiest month of the year. We should make almost 30 percent of our money for the year in these four weekends. So that’s been a big issue.”

The break-ins are also a big financial issue, totaling $103,000 in loss, including the theft of a Visit Aurora bike designed to be used as a mobile visitor center for the city.  Hardt still hopes that bike will be found but admits he doesn’t think it’s in the United States anymore. “We believe we’re being hit by a crew that is shipping bikes out of the country.”

He says he won’t be taking a paycheck this year because of the theft losses as well as making security changes to the business that will come at a high cost—an estimated $8,000. He hopes to get help with that cost through a fundraiser later this year.

He is focused on the future and keeping his business safe and thriving. He’ll also be moving the shop to a more secure location inside the same commercial complex.

Hardt says there are no easy solutions to crime in the area, but he is staying put in Aurora.

“Do I go to Denver? Do I go to Littleton? Go to Golden? Where do I go that is still a central hub where what I do for a living makes sense and is economically sound?”

He’s also asking community members to keep doing what they have been doing to support him: showing up at meetings and sending emails to city leaders. He’s grateful for all the backing from the community, including the people who showed up after the most recent theft to help fix the damage to a garage door.

Hardt says he would love to have a magic wand to solve the crime problem, but for now will be doing what he can. “We show up and work hard, we try to stay safe. We come in pairs; we keep the door locked.”