Facing Watt Avenue in North Highlands, the patio and exterior of Bear West BBQ, a barbeque and soul food restaurant, is charred and burned after the owner’s family suspected a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the building’s exterior on the early morning of Oct. 2. Photo by Seth Henderson

NORTH HIGHLANDS, CA (MPG) - Business owners, employees, family and friends of two businesses are asking for the community’s help after a suspected Molotov cocktail was thrown at a commercial building in the North Highlands Town Center on Oct. 2.   

Battalion Chief Brian Gonsalves of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said he was one of two responding battalion chiefs to the incident when a call came into dispatch for a commercial fire at the center around 2:30 a.m. Oct. 2, resulting in a total response of five fire engines, three trucks, an ambulance and two chiefs in under two minutes. 

Gonsalves said that crews arrived to heavy fire coming from the Watt Avenue-facing portion of the building, a restaurant known as Bear West BBQ, and began forcing access to the affected establishments, which included Heredia Art Collective, a tattoo shop next door, making sure no civilians were inside the building and putting out the fire in about five minutes. No one was inside the building.

“We're going to try to figure out if there was an intentional cause to the fire, who was responsible for that cause, we're going to try to determine that,” Gonsalves said, “
And fully prosecute anyone if we're able to determine that. That's our biggest give-back to them, so that their insurance doesn't take the hit and deal with all that.” 

A corridor on the exterior of Bear West BBQ in North Highlands shows signs of fire damage originating at the far end of the corridor. The fire department confirmed the incident was an outside-in fire. Photo by Seth Henderson

Bear West BBQ, a barbeque and soul food restaurant in the center, was severely impacted by the fire as investigators determined that the fire’s origin was near the establishment’s patio, which faced Watt Avenue, the owner’s son Marlon Smith said. 

A gofundme campaign has been initiated by the family of Bear West to raise money, rebuilding what the family calls their dream and livelihood. To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bear-west-bbq-rebuild-after-devastation.

Having spent the previous few days before the incident preparing to cater for an Oct. 4 youth soccer tournament in Antelope, Smith said Bear West was looking for a commercial kitchen to temporarily keep the catering alive. Smith said he had other events to cater for in the coming weeks, including a wedding. 

Gonsalves said that he has eaten at Bear West before and wanted to help the owners find a temporary kitchen. Gonsalves said he was using his connections in the community to help locate a temporary kitchen for Bear West to conduct its catering business.

The groom of the wedding, a North Highlands resident named Mark, said he heard the news about Bear West and visited the establishment while the damage was being assessed, offering to help Smith and the family with clean up by using his dump trailer to clear debris. 

“They're super nice and it sucks that this happened,” Mark said. “I came here like a week ago and people were throwing stuff through their windows.”

The interior of Bear West BBQ in North Highlands is pictured in the late morning of Oct. 2, displaying the damage caused while putting out the fire. Photo by Seth Henderson

Smith said that Bear West had been vandalized multiple times in the weeks prior to the fire, saying that windows had been broken and replaced on at least three separate occasions. He said one of the patio chairs was burned on either Sept. 29 or 30, a Monday and Tuesday, while the establishment was scheduled to be closed.

Security cameras on the premises captured the incident as well as glimpses of the suspect and Smith said that there is a “real personal vendetta” against Bear West. Smith said he has considered putting up a reward to catch the suspect with the community’s help. Without catching the suspect, Smith said, there is a potential worry that the restaurant could be vandalized again after it’s rebuilt.  

Bills are still coming in, Smith said. Pending an investigation from both the fire department and insurance adjusters, he said it would be quite some time before they can even think about opening the patio seating or any other part of the establishment. 

Because Sac Metro partners with a boarding company in instances of forced entry, the doors and several windows at Bear West were boarded up with plywood for the time being. 

“Everything is just so fresh right now. It’s all just so new,” a Bear West employee said. “Hopefully, the community can help us through our journey.”