“Pretty heartbreaking cause the Amiri’s are my favorite bosses I’ve had in the restaurant industry.”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The East Sacramento community is stepping up to support a beloved family-owned restaurant after a Christmas break-in caused extensive damage and forced it to close, leaving dozens of employees without work.
The Brickland Restaurant, located at the corner of Folsom Boulevard and 33rd Street, has remained closed for nearly a month. Signs posted outside let customers know the restaurant is temporarily shut down as repairs continue.
Joel Ayres, a friend of the Amiri family who owns the restaurant, said the closure has been emotionally difficult for them. The family, originally from Afghanistan, poured years of work into creating what Ayres described as a community gathering place.
“They have trouble even driving by here cause it’s emotionally really draining on them,” Ayres said.
The restaurant shut down after someone broke in during Christmas and vandalized the space, causing significant damage inside. In a social media post, the owners said they are addressing fire and smoke damage. A spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department described the fire as suspicious and said it remains under investigation.
While the restaurant has been closed, about 25 employees have been left without jobs. Cory Lopez, a bartender at Brickland, said the sudden loss of work has been difficult.
“Pretty heartbreaking cause the Amiri’s are my favorite bosses I’ve had in the restaurant industry,” Lopez said. “They’ve always treated us really well with integrity and respect. And besides having this happen to them, it sucks losing a job that you enjoy.”
Ayres said the family is working with insurance and authorities as the investigation continues. In the meantime, he created a GoFundMe to help support the unemployed staff.
He said the owners made it clear they wanted any assistance to go directly to their employees.
“They said, we don’t want anything ourselves,” Ayres said. “We want it, but if you could help our employees that are all unemployed and they’re still trying to feed families and pay rent and everything else.”
Lopez said the support reflects the character of both Ayres and the Amiri family, and he hopes to return to work once the restaurant reopens.
“Joel has always been an extremely vibrant and giving person,” Lopez said. “And the Amiri’s have wanted nothing but the best for us and for us to all succeed together.”
There is no timeline for reopening, but supporters remain hopeful. Ayres encouraged the community to continue backing the restaurant and to contact authorities if anyone has information related to the incident.
Sacramento Fire officials said it is still unknown how many people were involved in the fire, and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call the department’s arson tip line at 916-808-8732.
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.