‘Suspicious’ Fire Guts 2 Kosher Restaurants in Florida
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A fire that destroyed two kosher restaurants in Hollywood, Florida will be investigated as suspicious.
A fire early Sunday morning destroyed the Achla Pita Grill and Bon Ami Café, located adjacent to each other at a shopping plaza in a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, the Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. The restaurants are both owned by Ilan Timianski, who is Israeli.
Hollywood Fire Rescue Division Chief Joel Medina said the state fire marshal would investigate the blaze, telling the Sun-Sentinel that “We have some concerns.”
It is the third suspicious fire in a Jewish-owned store in the Emerald Center plaza in West Hollywood in the last two years.
A year ago, the Achla Pita Grill was torched by two masked arsonists, whose actions, including splashing flammable liquid all over the kitchen before setting it alight, were captured on a surveillance camera.
Nine months earlier, the Holyland Judaica store burned down after the back door was kicked and security cameras showed people running away from the back of the story.
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