‘We don’t feel safe here;’ Owner to close Riverside restaurant targeted by vandals

RIVERSIDE — The owner of a Vietnamese restaurant that was targeted by vandals motivated by race and the COVID-19 pandemic will close the business for good this spring because he fears for his family’s safety.

>>FIRST REPORT: Police investigating COVID-motivated vandalism at Riverside restaurant

Xuan Vietnamese - Thai Cuisine was forced to temporarily close Thursday after a fire broke out and caused damage to the adjacent International Foods grocery store. This was the second time in nearly one month that a fire disrupted business at the restaurant.

>>RELATED: Second fire under investigation at Riverside businesses previously targeted by COVID-motivated vandalism

“It smells like smoke all over the place. And we have to see if there is any more damage to the restaurant. So we’re not sure if we can 100 percent run the restaurant,” Nopp Mangmeesup, owner of Xuan Vietnamese - Thai Cuisine told News Center 7′s Katy Andersen Thursday.

The early morning fire Thursday started in the adjacent grocery store, International Foods, which is in the same building as the restaurant. Firefighters said the blaze started in between the store’s drop ceiling and the roof, but the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

“I don’t really know what caused the fire last night. Maybe electric, maybe another vandalism. We still don’t know yet,” Mangmeesup said.

While the cause and potential motivations are not clear and still being investigated by both the Riverside fire and police departments, the disruption to business was another reminder of the COVID-motivated vandalism in January where the restaurant was targeted.

In January, Mangmeesup found his delivery truck and the side of his building had been vandalized with spray paint. The vandalism was called a hate crime in a social media message by the Riverside Chamber of Commerce in January who urged citizens to help police identify and capture those responsible.

Mangmeesup talked to News Center 7 after the first incident and said he feared it could happen again.

Mangmeesup said he talked to his landlord after the January vandalism and both came to an agreement that he’ll close the restaurant in May.

“With COVID its hard enough. With the vandalism, and (the fire happening) back-to-back; I can’t take this any more. It’s just me and my wife, we don’t feel safe here,” Mangmeesup said.

And like last month, Mangmeesup said he fears things could get worse for him, his family, and his business.

“Who knows what’s going to happen next month. I never thought this was going to happen again,” he said.

“Who knows, we might get killed, or things might get worse,” Mangmeesup said.

Mangmeesup added that he has not received any updates from Riverside police on the status of the January investigation.

Police investigating COVID-motivated vandalism at Riverside restaurant

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