Long Beach dessert shop endures through attacks from vandals
A survivor of Hurricane Katrina, Kevyn Lee-Wellington isn't about to have a couple of vandals break his spirit.
"I am an African-American gay entrepreneur," said Lee-Wellington. "And one thing I know is that I come from a heritage of people who have the strength to get up, get through and get over all the obstacles that come their way."
Two years ago, Lee-Wellington hedged his bets and quit his job as a business executive to start Fluffy's Sno-Balls, hoping to bring authentic New Orleans culture to Long Beach. In the time since, Fluffy's has turned into a staple stop for many in the area through several community events, by employing only local high schoolers, and most importantly — free food.
Despite the sweetness behind the business, Lee-Wellington's shop has faced its fair share of challenges — including a few run-ins with vandals.
Last Thursday night, at about 10:30 p.m., a man slammed an object into Lee-Wellington's modest dessert shop breaking the glass front door.
"Everything is shattered so what we had to do to protect the store is to board everything up," he said. "Luckily, we have really strong glass on the second pane window."
This was the second time an incident like this has happened in the last three months and was a big blow to the small business.
"I'm a small business and insurance is being affected," said Lee-Wellington.
Even with these hardships, Lee-Wellington said if there is one thing he's an expert at, it's perseverance.
Nearly two decades ago and freshly out of college Lee-Wellington narrowly survived Hurricane Katrina with very little to his name.
"We lost everything," he said. "The only thing we had were the clothes on my back, the vehicle that I drove and my faith."
He drove 26 hours to California and started all over. And to this day, that fighting spirit and resolve remain steadfast.
