'An Attack On Our Feelings': Vandals Target Another Citrus Heights Small Business
CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) — The shattered glass and broken windows are gone, but the damage is still there. Vandals targeted the Fukumi Japanese Noodle House in Citrus Heights, smashing nine windows.
Michaela Bartido showed CBS13 just how devastating the damage was.
"I was sweeping inside for like an hour this morning just so people could eat safely inside," she said.
Bartido said customers have offered encouragement and support.
"We come here every week and it's a bad, bad thing," said customer Eric Naberrte.
"They didn't do nothing wrong. They just feed the people in here. I think that's pretty bad," said customer Christian Ruiz.
And we're talking multiple large windows with custom tint and Japanese artwork needing to be replaced, adding up to nearly $30,000.
"It's not like the same windows you get at your house or your car window, they're custom windows," Bartido said.
"It's very expensive. Labor costs are very expensive, materials are very expensive," said nearby Mountain Mike's Pizza owner Dave Brar.
Vandals targeted Mountain Mike's Pizza less than a mile away twice this year. Brar worries they're targetting minority-owned businesses. He says nearly a half dozen other minority business owners have reached out to him with similar destruction.
Some have surveillance videos of the vandals. Citrus Heights police wouldn't confirm that, only saying it's an ongoing investigation.
"I'm feeling bad that he's targetting different nationalities," said Brar. "It's scary because I don't want somebody to kill me."
Brar is taking his concerns to Citrus Heights police and meeting with a commander at the end of the month. Vandals shattered way more than windows, but a community's sense of safety and spirit.
"It means a lot. It's just windows at the end of the day, but it's sort of an attack on our feelings and how we feel as a business because we want to serve our community," Bartido said.
She added, "We have amazing customers who gave us so much support when this happened and told us to keep our heads up, that we're doing a good job so there's no reason to be afraid, but it still hurts."