Protesters vandalized a new Los Angeles restaurant Wednesday with the words “GENTRIFICATION IS GENOCIDE” graffitied on the windows, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The restaurant, Dunsmoor, is located in the historically Latino neighborhood of Glassell Park which has seen a recent rise in property values as well as demographic change, according to the LA Times. Restaurant staff discovered the words sprayed across their windows in bright red graffiti on the restaurant’s opening day.
The same day this upscale L.A. restaurant was gearing up for opening night, protesters sent a message with graffiti on its windows: “Gentrification Is Genocide.”https://t.co/2Io6LaveWy
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) June 30, 2022
The vandalism occurred at 4:32 a.m. according to security camera footage, the LA Times reported.
Taylor Parsons, a restaurant partner, told the L.A. Times that the staff believes the attack was been done by the same culprit or culprits who previously tagged the restaurant in January.
Later that day, protests erupted outside the restaurant. As customers dined, protesters pressed their signs against the windows that said “GENTRIFIERS ARE ON THE MENU TONIGHT!” and “F— YOUR $23 LENTILS!!!” according to the LA Times.
Last night members of our Northeast Local chapter protested the opening of Dunsmoor, a new very expensive restaurant in Glassell Park. (1/5) https://t.co/JzbBP2GJtX
— LA Tenants Union (@LATenantsUnion) June 30, 2022
The protesters chanted “Save the hood! We say NO to gentry restaurants!” Others marched up and down Eagle Rock Boulevard up to a nearby cocktail bar where a physical confrontation broke out involving a woman who dined at Dunsmoor, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Video Shows Bloody Aftermath Of Suspected Homeless Transient Fight In Major Tourist Hotspot)
More photos from anti gentrification protest this evening @LATenantsUnion @LaTenants @Kdeleoncd14 @EunissesH @LATACO @LANow pic.twitter.com/xzyDJQlnu7
— Natasha_Khanna_Dang (@Natasha_KD) June 30, 2022
The account @dunsmoorisdone announced the protest on Instagram on Tuesday calling for a protest spanning from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
View this post on Instagram
“This neighborhood is fed — and made — by our community of Latin America” the post said in both English and Spanish. The @dunsmoorisdone account promoted the protest along with Street Watch L.A., an organization founded by the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the LA Times reported.
The post’s description also said, “This restaurant group WILL cause heightened displacement — and homelessness — unless they are stopped. Please come and help us send a clear message that these people not only chose the wrong neighborhood … Dunsmoor is DONE.”
Parsons told the L.A. Times that, despite protesters’ aim of closing the restaurant, he was not going to let that happen. The restaurant’s staff discusses pricing every day and tries to keep entrée prices under $40 and even caps the wine markups below industry standards, the LA Times reported.