A Los Angeles ice cream shop owner received much-needed help Monday after his store was looted and vandalized on New Year’s Eve.
Steve Winick received a text from a friend on New Year’s Day showing that the Carvel ice cream shop, the business he owned, had been damaged. Five out of seven windows were shattered, and cash was stolen from the register.
Winnick told Fox 11 Los Angeles that he had no way to board up the damaged windows or secure the store on Sunday.
Winnick noted to the outlet that there had been three other burglaries in the shopping center where the store was located on Santa Monica Boulevard in recent months. Property theft has been on the rise in Los Angeles as there was a 12.5 percent uptick in burglary crimes, according to the city’s police department.
He also stated on a GoFuneMe page he organized that the vandalism came at the “worst time of the year for an ice cream store.”
When Winnick’s story was aired Sunday night on Fox 11, a Good Samaritan saw the report and decided he would lend a helping hand.
Amando Chavez, who works for a glass company in Paramount, came out to Carvel’s on Monday and started helping repair the windows at the shop.
The Good Samaritan said he knew most companies would not be working the Monday after New Year’s, so he felt compelled to use his day off help Winnick in any way he could.
“I feel bad for Steve over here at the Ice Cream place. He’s got a small business here, Chavez told Fox 11. “It’s rough. It’s hard enough living now, and then they break into his place.”
Chavez removed all of the glass, measured the windows, and placed an order for replacement windows, taking a massive burden off Winnick’s shoulders.
To thank Chavez for the gracious work he was doing, Winnick told him he would treat him with ice cream for lunch and sundaes for dinner.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.