Community Corner
Fairfax Storeowner Whose Shop Was Looted Still Supports Protests
The owner of a Fairfax sneaker store that was looted May 30 said he remains strongly supportive of protests for racial justice in LA.
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Sole Stage on Fairfax, a sneaker lover’s paradise that had customers like boxer Floyd Mayweather and NBA player Devin Booker, is an empty shell of itself after being looted during the recent unrest in Los Angeles. Protests on May 30 in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis started Pan Pacific Park and spread into Beverly Hills, the Fairfax District and onto Melrose as the crowd grew. Stores along Rodeo Drive and Melrose were vandalized and looted.
One of those stores was Sole Stage. Footage from Chopper 2 on that night showed Sole Stage’s security gate up a few feet from the ground, with debris spilling out of the doors. In the street beyond, dozens of police officers surround protestors who sat on the ground. But for Sole Stage’s owner Saam Mobasseri, the loss of his inventory is a small price to pay for real change in this country.
"I could lose $100,000 worth of inventory. I have insurance and I could replace all that product," Mobasseri said. "These kids, this generation, they’re being raised to look at what’s happening and they can’t change their outlook, they’re being affected. Not only are lives being lost, but the outlook of what’s going on, they don’t feel safe."
