Loyal St. Maarten's customers stand in front of the stolen sign during a vigil after its January closing. The restaurant is scheduled to open next week. Dave McNair

Just a week before the planned re-opening of St. Maarten Café on the Corner, which closed abruptly at the end of January after 26 years, more trouble has struck. On the night of March 5, the massive 200-pound, hand-made sign that has been hanging outside since 1985 was stolen.



"It makes me want to cry," says Nicole Hamilton, fighting back tears. "I'm freaking out I'm so upset."



Hamilton, along with her husband Russ and several local investors, were planning to re-open the popular Corner restaurant, but when they arrived that morning they noticed the sign was missing



"We're just looking to have it safely returned," says Hamilton. "And we won't press charges."



If you have any information about the sign, call Crime Stoppers at 977-4000 or fill out an online incident report.

–->Update: Look what happened next.