Asian American-owned East Sacramento gelato shop vandalized for 3rd time in past year

An East Sacramento gelato shop was vandalized for the third time in the past year Thursday, possibly the latest example of violence targeting Asian Americans.

Yume Gelato owners Mike Janwar and Lucy Xu arrived at the 5921 Folsom Blvd. shop on Thursday morning to find several front windows cracked and shattered, according to a post on the gelateria’s Facebook page.

“We are (c)losed (t)oday, (s)orry for the inconvenience. Yes, it happened (a)gain. Speechless,” Yume’s Facebook post read.

Hate crimes against Asian Americans have skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, culminating in a gunman’s rampage earlier this week that left eight people dead in Atlanta - killings many have attributed to racial hatred. In southeastern Sacramento, a man left a dead cat outside Chinese American-owned Mad Butcher Meat Co. last month.

Police are investigating the Mad Butcher incident as a hate crime. They hadn’t yet drawn that conclusion about the Yume Gelato vandalism, Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Karl Chan said.

“Detectives are following up on that incident, and at this time we have not identified a motive in the vandalism,” Chan said. “But we are aware of the recent event that occurred (in Atlanta), so we’re looking into all the circumstances at this point.”

Yume Gelato had a surveillance system in place, though it’s currently unclear what if anything was captured in the overnight vandalism, Chan said. He confirmed Yume Gelato reported two other instances of vandalism in the last year, and was not aware of any similar reports filed by neighboring shops in that time.

City Councilwoman Mai Vang called for Sacramento residents to stand with their Asian American neighbors and for the vandalism to be investigated as a hate crime.

“Hate and racism against Asian Americans has been increasingly violent and visible, both in Sacramento and across America,” Vang said in a prepared statement. “The repeated vandalism against the owners of Yume Gelato is unacceptable and must be investigated as a potential hate crime.”

A GoFundMe page established Thursday had already raised more than $7,000, nearly enough to replace Yume Gelato’s shattered glass with reinforced windows.

Janwar and Xu founded Yume Gelato in late 2019. The shop stands out for its unusual flavors — think avocado chocolate chip or matcha strawberry mochi — and vegan options. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but posted an update Thursday after the GoFundMe page was created.

“On behalf of everyone at Yume, I would like to use this opportunity to thank all of you in advance,” Janwar and Xu wrote. “We’re working on cleaning and repairing all the damaged areas and look forward to seeing and serving you again soon.”

Another Asian-owned business, KoJa Kitchen, was similarly vandalized Tuesday night in downtown Sacramento. A video posted to KoJa’s social media pages showed a man throwing a rock through the front window of the restaurant at 732 K St.

KoJa called the incident a “planned attack,” and Chan confirmed a police report was filed Wednesday, though no motive had been identified.