Iranian Restaurant Looted and Vandalized During Friday Riots in Portland

June 1, 2020

Among the dozens of businesses looted and vandalized in downtown Portland during the Friday night rioting is a restaurant owned by an immigrant family.

The peaceful protest condemning George Floyd’s death in the city turned into a violent riot later in the night, KGW reported.

Floyd, an African American man, died while in custody of the Minneapolis police, sparking pockets of protests across the country. Some of the protests escalated into looting and destruction of private property.

Persian House, situated at SW 10th and Morrison in downtown Portland, was among those damaged by some looters who managed to break in through its back door.

According to Sara Houranpay, whose family owns the restaurant, the intruders tore off expensive hand-woven Persian rugs from the walls and stole computers, tablets, and other items.

Houranpay noted that while she also denounces police violence, looters who cause damage to innocent victims are not helping the cause.

“These crimes are not just against the police – or as some of these looters were going by saying, ‘Screw the corporations.’ It’s not just against them. It’s against innocent bystanders,” Houranpay told KGW in a separate report.

“There’s black business owners, there’s Asian business owners. There’s tons of minorities who own these businesses. We’ve already suffered through this COVID and are financially suffering. This is just another step that truly we did not need,” she lamented.

Houranpay’s parents, who came to the U.S. from Iran, opened the restaurant 30 years ago. She shared that her father has been feeding homeless people in his restaurant over the years as his way of giving back to the community.

To help Persian House cover the expenses that insurance will not, a GoFundMe page was set up by friends of the owners.

Feature Image via Persian House

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