'Be resilient,' says Fresno coffee shop owner battling repeated vandalism

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A java store proprietor successful Fresno's Tower District is putting a affirmative rotation connected the repeated harm done to her store.

Component Coffee connected Olive Avenue has had to regenerate the beforehand windows of the store 5 times this twelvemonth unsocial since January. Instead of getting angry, the store announced successful a social media station connected Friday that they would "respond to acts of vandalism and hatred by bringing emotion and flowers."

Kelly Amend with Component Coffee says she was saddened by the vandalism - but adjacent much saddened by the implications.

"More saddened that idiosyncratic whitethorn person felt the request to bash that," Amend said. "It made maine bittersweet that determination could beryllium idiosyncratic successful that framework of caput and felt similar they needed to enactment out."

Even though the store had erstwhile again had its beforehand windows smashed, her caput was not connected catching the idiosyncratic responsible.

"It made maine deliberation astir however arsenic a nine we could respond successful a amended way," she said. "I consciousness similar atrocious things bash happen, but it's however we respond that's much important."

Amend says her effect was to commencement the Tower Store Flower Fund.

"Instead of responding with much hatred oregon disgust," Amend explained. "There are a mates of flowerbeds astir the store that volition beryllium putting immoderate flowers successful straight successful beforehand of the [broken] windows."

To springiness their customers a accidental to amusement their enactment the store besides announced a time and a clip successful which they would beryllium planting the flowers.

"They tin articulation america October 5th from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.," Amend said. "We'll beryllium adding ungraded and java grounds to the soil, which is benignant of fun."

Amend says portion it whitethorn not alteration the minds of radical who perpetrate acts of vandalism oregon forestall further vandalism, planting flowers is simply a motion aimed astatine persuading radical successful the assemblage to "respond successful love."

"Tower is simply a resilient community," Amend said. "I deliberation it's important that we retrieve that, particularly erstwhile we spot much signs of things similar this happening successful our community, and that we take to look astatine the affirmative and proceed to beryllium resilient."