Windows smashed at Citrus Heights restaurant

By Mike Hazlip—
Customers at a small Citrus Heights restaurant came to the aid of the business when they found several windows broken at the establishment Saturday morning.

Regulars arriving at Corner Stone Restaurant on Dec. 2 for their usual breakfast instead found broken windows and glass shards littering the booths and floor of the restaurant. Juan Marin, part owner of the restaurant, said he was overcome with emotion at seeing customers willing to help clean and repair the damage.

“They usually come in 20 minutes before we open, and they start seeing all the mess over there and some of them were crying,” Marin said. “Some of these people were crying because, I mean, this is like their house, they come in every single day.”

Marin said customers didn’t hesitate, with some bringing tools, brooms, buckets, gloves, and even food and drinks.

“They didn’t think about nothing, just picking up all the glass, and they told us we’re going to have to clean everything and get it ready,” Marin said, noting he wasn’t able to serve customers for about a day while the damage was cleaned up. “I started crying with them, but I really appreciate what they did.”

The small cafe does not have security cameras, Marin said, and nothing was taken from the restaurant.

“We don’t make much money, I don’t think they were here for the money,” he said. “We don’t have cameras because we’ve been here for more than 20 years. It’s a small place. Who cares about this little place?”

The vandalism might have stemmed from an altercation Marin said he had with a man in the parking lot of the shopping center several days prior, but with no solid suspects the business owner is left with more questions than answers.

“Whoever did it, I don’t know. Maybe something wrong with their head,” he said.