Was it hate? Broken windows in Lincoln District leave community picking up the pieces
Brandy Ngo didn’t really want to be talking about the broken windows at the business her family has operated for the last 24 years.
She didn’t want to think about who might have smashed them last weekend, or, most of all, why they did it.
Speaking for her family — and in particular her father, Phuc Ngo, the main force behind Tho Tuong BBQ on the main drag of South 38th Street in the Lincoln District — Ngo said that she has no idea why it happened and would prefer to focus instead on the community’s response to the senseless vandalism.
More than anything, she wanted to get back to talking about what her family is best known for, in Lincoln and beyond.
“Honestly, all we want is people to come and enjoy our food,” Ngo said on Wednesday, five days after the windows of her family’s restaurant were busted out as part of a flurry of destruction that Tacoma police say left a total of four businesses on the block in a similar state.
“We’re not here for people to talk about the incident. We don’t want to make it a negative story. The most important thing is … this community,” Ngo said. “We have each other’s backs, and when things are down — like what just happened to a few of us — we’re all here for each other, through thick and thin.”
It’s the resilient stance you’d expect from a neighborhood business district known for its diversity, including the many Asian American owned businesses — like Tho Tuong — that call it home. Still, there’s little doubt that what happened on the evening of May 13 — when the windows at the restaurant and several other nearby businesses were left in shards — has shaken those who know and love the area.
Next door to Tho Tuong BBQ, Phuong Beauty Salon — where owners were unavailable for comment this week — also had its windows smashed during the spree, Tacoma police confirmed. And according to Deserie Nicole — who owns All Star Vintage clothing store across the street — the fact that both were targeted at a time when hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are on the rise across the country is hard to ignore.
While TPD spokesperson Wendy Haddow said that there was no initial indication that the spate of broken glass was motivated by anti-Asian sentiment, that hasn’t stopped Nicole and more than 100 individual donors from raising nearly $6,000 in a matter of days to show their support for the two businesses.
According to Haddow, the police investigation into the vandalism is ongoing.
In the meantime, Nicole said that what matters is that people are stepping up to show that the businesses aren’t alone, and that Tacoma cares about them.
“I mean, in my opinion, it looks like it’s a hate crime … and it just feels awful,” Nicole said, underscoring the worrisome national trend and the uncertainty it brings.
“I just feel like it’s up to us to come together in our communities and support one another,” regardless of who’s to blame, she added.
City Council member Catherine Ushka, who represents the area, agreed. Acknowledging that there’s currently no way to know for certain why the two businesses in her district were singled out — or if it was purely random — she also said it would be “irresponsible, given the climate, if we didn’t respond with a level of concern.”
“I think it really shakes people’s sense of place and hope and security when something like this happens,” Ushka said. “We’re a vibrant and diverse community, and the threat is real.”
As a business owner who, like many, has struggled to weather the pandemic-related economic storm, Nicole said the toll inflicted by the vandalism is financial and emotional, which is why she quickly launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her neighbors.
At Tho Tuong, Ngo said repair estimates have so far put the cost of replacing the windows at roughly $3,000, though she’s hoping to negotiate a better price. Employed by Boeing, Ngo, 27, still works at the family restaurant on the weekend, and said that even the brief period that the vandalism forced her father’s business to close came with a significant cost.
Normally, her father — who’s a Vietnamese immigrant — has his hands full in the kitchen, preparing the food that has won fans far and wide over the years. Ngo said the roasted duck is especially popular, with customers traveling from places like Everett and Portland to get it, in addition to orders that are regularly shipped to California.
In the wake of the recent vandalism, Ngo said, her father couldn’t help but be distracted, but that he’s moving on now, because it’s what he does, and it’s part of his culture.
“My dad, you know, he’s very supportive of those who are in need in our community. And it’s sad to think that this may be because we’re Asian-run or because of what’s going on right now,” Ngo said.
“I think naturally, as human beings, we really don’t want to automatically think it was because of hate,” she continued.
“We just have to be positive, and we’re really thankful for the support.”
