[LA MESA Tues Sept 1, 4:40 pm] – La Mesa police arrested a man and a woman found on the roof of the shuttered Claim Jumper restaurant at Grossmont Center Tuesday after a caller reported a burglary in progress at the vacant building.
Officers were called to 5500 Grossmont Center Dr. late in the afternoon on a report that people were inside the closed restaurant, possibly stripping it for copper wire. Police searched the interior and determined one or more suspects had moved to the roof.
At 4:40 p.m., officers requested La Mesa Fire Truck 11 for roof access. Two firefighters and two police officers rode the aerial ladder’s basket to the roofline, where they spotted two adults and a small dog. Both were ordered to lie down and complied, but it’s unclear if the dog followed commands.
Officers climbed onto the roof and detained the pair. They were brought down one at a time in the basket, along with the dog. Police said both would be booked on burglary charges.
The restaurant has sat empty since Claim Jumper closed its La Mesa location in September 2024 after decades at the mall. No redevelopment permits had been filed for the site as of early 2025.
The closure was part of a long decline for the chain. Founded in Los Alamitos in 1977, Claim Jumper had 45 restaurants in eight states when it was sold out of bankruptcy to Landry’s Inc. in 2010. It filed for Chapter 11 a second time in October 2022. As of late June 2026 it was down to four locations – Costa Mesa, Buena Park, San Diego Harbor area, and Tualatin, Ore.
