Community restores ransacked Compton bakery after street ‘takeover’

By mzaxazm


In the early hours of Tuesday, Jan. 2, a raucous “street takeover” by vehicles and onlookers outside of a Compton, California, bakery devolved from racing stunts like doughnut-spinning into looting. One car slammed into the security grate of Ruben’s Bakery and Mexican Food, Inc., breaking through the entrance. A mob ransacked the place, stealing goods worth more than $70,000.

The bakery and meat store, founded 48 years ago by Ruben Ramirez Sr. as a taco stand, is a fixture in this community. The business survived the 1992 LA riots and the COVID-19 pandemic. Would an illegal street takeover – a disruptive and sometimes fatal phenomenon – do it in?

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Rioting, looting, and protests that turn violent often create challenges for a community. This city responded to one such test in a swift and positive way.

Family, friends, and employees pitched in to clean up and repair “a shambles,” as Ruben Ramirez Jr. describes it. The local council member’s office donated paint. 

Against all expectations, the bakery reopened three days later as proof of the power of community, and a testament to recovery after tragedy. 

Now regulars and strangers were lining up at the counter. Rosa Aldaz, emerging from the bakery with bread and champurrado, a chocolate drink, has a message for looters. “Stop and think,” she urges. “Would you want that for your family?”

Ruben Ramirez Jr. hoped 2024 would start with a bang for his struggling, family-owned bakery in Compton, just south of Los Angeles. But he wasn’t thinking of a destructive bang like this – or the unexpected generosity it would spark.

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Jan. 2, a raucous “street takeover” by vehicles and onlookers at the intersection outside of the bakery devolved from racing stunts like doughnut-spinning into looting. A Kia Soul reversed forcefully into the security grate of Ruben’s Bakery and Mexican Food, Inc., breaching the entrance. A mob of about 100 people then trashed the place, and made off with cash, equipment, and food – an estimated loss of more than $70,000.

Three Kings Day, a Christian celebration, was coming up on Saturday. It’s a big business opportunity for a Mexican bakery, and the Ramirez family was looking forward to a boost from orders of roscas, the circular-shaped sweetbread for the occasion.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Rioting, looting, and protests that turn violent often create challenges for a community. This city responded to one such test in a swift and positive way.

The bakery and meat store is a fixture in the community, founded 48 years ago by the senior Ramirez as a taco stand. The business had survived the LA riots of 1992, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic – though barely. Would an illegal street takeover – a disruptive and sometimes fatal phenomenon that plagues some California cities – do it in?

Against all expectations, the bakery reopened for business on Friday morning, just three days later, as proof of the power of community and a testament to rebirth and recovery after tragedy. “We didn’t think we would be ready,” said a grateful Mr. Ramirez, standing outside the honey-colored store that morning. 

At 10:00 a.m., business looked brisk. Workers shaped rosca dough in the back room, handed breakfast burritos to eager customers for takeout, and rolled out stacked trays of bolillos, a short baguette. Family, friends, and employees had pitched in to clean up and repair “a shambles,” as Mr. Ramirez Jr. describes it. The local council member’s office donated paint. Now regulars and strangers were lining up at the counter, and TV news crews that showed up to chronicle the unfolding story of community unity were reporting from the store.  

Francine Kiefer/The Christian Science Monitor

People gather at Ruben’s Bakery and Mexican Food, Inc., in Compton, Calif., Jan. 5, 2024, after restoration by friends and family.

When Mr. Ramirez Jr. arrived at the scene of broken glass and destruction in the wee hours of Tuesday, he felt deeply angry. Then sad. Now he is overcome by the tremendous outpouring of goodwill since news got out about the looting. A woman from Texas had even called on Friday morning to pray with him – something he’s been doing a lot. “I’m overwhelmed by the response,” he says, especially for his dad, Ruben Ramirez Sr. “The more that people call, the bigger the smile on his face.”



Source link

Leave a Comment