An Asian restaurant falsely accused of selling dog meat after a woman took to social media to suggest so has closed, its owners have announced in a statement.
Only open for six months, Fresno’s Tasty Thai started to face unwarranted scrutiny less than two weeks ago – after Maria Alvarez Garcia published a series of posts to social media showing a pit bull tied up near the restaurant.
Since-deleted, the photos and videos did not contain any claims concerning dog-meat themselves, but instead alleged animal abuse at a home directly next door – that is, until she realized the eatery’s owners were Asian.
At that point, the woman – whose social media is riddled with videos approaching tied-up or stray dogs she suspects are abused – posted a clip suggesting something shady was going on in the restaurant’s kitchen, citing the tied up dog as evidence.
Within days, the posts – one of which reportedly showed Garcia confronting the owner of the perfectly health dog – spurred racially charged discourse amongst commenters, and eventually a hate crime investigation.
Carried out by the Fresno Police Department, the probe quickly found both the dog meat and abuse claims to be false.
On Tuesday, owner David Rasavong – a longtime citizen of Fresno who operated the eatery with his two elderly parents – revealed he decided to close the restaurant for the safety of his fellow owners, who are 74 and 67, as well as his staff.
Rasavong, a dog owner who was born in the US, said the eatery would likely relocate as it seeks to repair its tarnished reputation.
‘Thank you to everyone who has reached out in support during this challenging time,’ Rasavong wrote Tuesday, in statement announcing the restaurant’s closure.
‘Your comments and messages have been the one bright light in this whole situation.’
Days after posting a video that slammed the harassments he and his family have face as a result of Garcia’s deleted videos as ‘disgusting’, the restaurateur laid bare what he said was a difficult decision.
‘After much thought and consideration, we, as a family, have decided to close this location of Tasty Thai due to all the threats and harassment. Safety has and will always be our main priority.’
Rasavong went on to map out what may be next for him and his family – as they try to pick up the pieces wrought by a bizarre saga that happened in a matter of days.
‘As immigrants, it has always been my parents’ dream to pass on the richness and traditions of our culture,’ he told followers. ‘They’ve always done that through food and service to the community.
‘We are currently looking at a couple of options to re-locate to and open a new Tasty Thai in order to continue my parents’ dream.’
Now shuttered, the restaurant was set on the corner of First and Belmont Avenues. Prior to the controversy, reviews show that it was relatively well-liked.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
