A Latino-owned business was recently vandalized on Broadway Avenue in Pittsburgh. The owners, however, remain unfazed by the incident.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that it was the second time in a month that a Latino-owned business in the South Hills has been vandalized.

Antonio Fraga, co-owner and chef at the Casa Rasta restaurant in Beechview, came to work on Jan. 15, 2016 at around 10:30 am. Upon entering the establishment, he realized that the exterior canopy was bent as if someone pulled on it. When he came nearer to repair the damage, he found that the front window of the restaurant has also been shattered.

Casa Rasta is affiliated with the Las Palmas food chain, owned by Gabriel Berumen, which operates various taco stands and grocery stores in Beechview, Oakland and Brookline. 

The night before, after Fraga and Missy Berumen, manager of the establishment and wife of Gabriel Berumen, closed and left the restaurant at around 11 pm, someone threw a rock - described to be larger than a baseball - through the window. The rock was still inside a potted plant in the restaurant the following night.

Based on the same Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, on Dec. 8, 2015, someone vandalized the exterior rear wall of a Las Palmas grocery store in Brookline. The person wrote, “Go back to Mexico.”

According to Gabriel, since the first Las Palmas store opened in Brookline in 2009, there have been several incidents of vandalism, targeting his car and vans. He has been in the United States for 23 years and said that racial discrimination was among the issues he expected to face since his arrival.

Mayor Bill Peduto condemned the acts, describing it as “pure hatred.”

The Pittsburgh City Paper revealed that the owners of Casa Rasta remained steadfast despite the recent racial attacks. They put the rock that was thrown through the window on top of a shelf between the dining room and bar. It now stated in Spanish, “The more rocks in my path, the bigger my castle.”

Fraga said that he was surprised about the incident because the place was a very quiet neighborhood and they have a very good relationship with their neighbors. He said that it was just an isolated incident. Fraga said that he has been in the area for almost five years without any untoward incident.

Missy Berumen stated that they filed a police report about the latest vandalism. City public safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said that the department is currently investigating the case.