Restaurante Michoacan at 8311 15th Ave. N.W. was robbed early this morning, but thieves only got away with a few bottles of whiskey after smashing in a window at the mexican restaurant with a rock.

Rudy McCoy-Pantoja, manger of the Ballard/Fremont Clean Streets Program, said the break-in occurred at about 2 a.m. this morning when the thieves broke a window behind a potted plant on the north side of the building.

McCoy-Pantoja, who sometimes speaks on behalf of the owners of Restaurante Michoacan because they do not communicate in English very well, said the alarm must have scared the robbers off.

"I think somebody did it because they thought it would be easy," said McCoy-Pantoja. "That shrub has to go."

McCoy-Pantoja said paying for damages will not be easy for the restaurant owners at a time when sales are slumping. He said it will be about $1,300 to replace the window and repair the damages.

"It just pisses us off," he said. "Whether it's here or next door, we have to really look out for each other in this neighborhood."

It's been an eventful week for the owners of Restaurante Michoacan, who had a misunderstanding with Seattle Public Utilities about whether or not they were being asked to remove a happy face painting that has been on the building for the past 10 years.

The city sent a letter to the property owners requesting they remove graffiti based on a complaint from a resident. Restaurant owners misunderstood that to mean they needed to paint over the smiley face.

The misunderstanding has been clarified and the happy face will remain on the facade of the restaurant, said McCoy-Pantoja.