Man head-butts, then smashes window at downtown SLO restaurant — ‘He got very angry’
.jpeg "Old San Luis BBQ was vandalized Friday morning after a man who was smoking and drinking in front of the establishment was asked to leave the area.")
A homeless man smashed the window of a downtown San Luis Obispo restaurant late Friday morning after being asked to move from in front of the business.
Old San Luis BBQ on Higuera Street was vandalized Friday around 11:45 a.m. amid a downpour, according to marketing and hospitality manager Alyssa Howarter.
“It always feels like it’s one thing after another downtown these days with the different challenges we’ve had to face in 2020 and now 2021, but we’re pretty resilient down here,” Howarter said.
According to Howarter, a homeless man who the business had not seen before was sitting on the bench in front of the BBQ restaurant with a gas can, smoking and drinking vodka. Howarter said she was unsure if the gas can was filled or not.
“We’re pretty familiar with most of the homeless around here because it’s a kind of like a popular hangout corner. But he’s someone that we hadn’t seen before,” Howarter said. “He was sitting in front of our bench with alcohol. He had vodka and cigarettes.”
The restaurant posted about the incident on Instagram, captioning a series of photos of the damage “When you kindly tell the man smoking and drinking in front of your restaurant that he he needs to move his party elsewhere. ... How’s your day going so far??”
Manager asked man to move
Howarter said she did not witness what happened, but pulled up to work behind the San Luis Obispo police vehicles that were responding to the scene.
Howarter said the manager who was at the scene when the vandalism occurred asked the man to move twice, warning the man he would have to call the police if he did not comply.
“Obviously, you can’t smoke near a restaurant or drink in public, and the gas was concerning. So he asked him if he could kindly move his party elsewhere, but he didn’t want to,” Howarter said.
The man became volatile after the warning and began yelling, cussing and thrashing against the business.
“He got very angry at that point, started pacing in front of the restaurant, screaming, cussing, etc. There was a woman outside at the time, so they had to pull her inside to make sure she was out of the way,” Howarter said.
“He was banging on the window with his fist. ... He head-butted the window at one point from what I hear and then a single fist went through that big large window next to the takeout (window) and that’s what shattered the glass,” Howarter added.
According to Howarter, the manager then called the police, who arrived just before her.
At first, she said, she thought nothing of the three police vehicles near the restaurant. Howarter said she frequently sees interactions between homeless people and police near downtown businesses.
“It’s a pretty typical occurrence downtown to see homeless people reacting in theatrical ways, not always aggressive,” Howarter said. “I would say 75% of the time they are very kind.”
When she walked into the business, she realized what had happened.
Howarter said the restaurant quickly cleaned up the glass before any customers arrived.
Police were able to corner and arrest the man, Howarter said.
According to Howarter, the man sustained some injuries and appeared to be treated by medics who responded to the scene. She did not know the severity of his injuries but said “there was a little bit of blood.”
San Luis Obispo police were not available for comment as of 3:30 p.m. Friday.
Restaurant working to replace window
She said Old San Luis BBQ has insurance and hopes to replace the window quickly, and though the damage is unfortunate, it will likely not be a major setback.
“We’re taking the punches and just moving forward and hopefully people continue to support us,” Howarter said.
Howarter, who said she volunteers on and off at the Prado Center People’s Kitchen, said she hopes the city finds new ways to address the unhoused population.
“There is a homeless issue in the downtown area that we really hope we can find some ways to correct or ways to find more options for them,” Howarter said.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 3:44 PM.
