In the early Monday morning hours of February 26th, Beto Mendez found his regional Mexican restaurant on Melrose Avenue in the East Hollywood area burglarized, vandalized, and mostly destroyed. The walls were spray painted, countertops and windows smashed, and his equipment and office looted, including his safe.
This devastation couldn’t have happened at a worse time, being that just two weeks prior, the mother of his two girls passed away. “I’m sad, I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” Mendez tells L.A. TACO.
By his estimates, Beto believes he’ll need between $50,000 to $80,000 to repair and reopen his restaurant. He just learned that his insurance will only cover up to $20,000. “It’s my ignorance,” he admits, “I don’t know how to read these policies or coverages. I should have understood them better.”