If you’re on the social media platform X (I’ve also seen it on Reddit), you may have seen this video or a similar one floating around over the last 24 hours. It reportedly shows workers in a Salvadoran restaurant in Los Angeles helping officers who were injured during the on-going riots. (I believe a local ABC affiliate in Los Angeles showed it briefly, too.)
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🚨 AWESOME: A Salvadoran restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles took in injured officers and provided them first aid during the riots
They even fed them as well.
There are still SOME good people out there! 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/mW2lI1ujsu
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 9, 2025
Well, here’s more to the story behind the video.
The restaurant is Restaurante Y Pupuseria La Ceiba, which is located on E. Alondra Blvd. in Compton, and the video does show that the employees were helping various law enforcement officers, many of whom had been hit with tear gas, by fanning them and flushing their eyes.
But that’s not all this video shows. Restaurante Y Pupuseria La Ceiba is owned by Elizabeth Mendoza, a woman born in El Salvador who came to the United States years ago and is now a citizen. She loves and celebrates her home culture, (and its food, obviously), but she’s also a patriotic immigrant who appreciates what the United States has to offer and the opportunities it gave her as she earned her citizenship the legal way.
An X user named Stephanie — who goes by the user ID @stephsvox — says she spoke to Mendoza. She had this to say:
She is happy to let people know and come eat at her restaurant, which she calls ‘a humble little hole in the wall that welcomes everyone.’ She says they love their police officers and the police love them. ‘I give them a lot of food because I know they need my help. It is so dangerous for them. They are friends and they always say thank you. So many people said thank you today!’
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Stephanie also said that Mendoza shared some pictures and videos with her, including one of Mendoza doing an interview with Telemundo. You might notice that she’s wearing a very red, white, and blue patriotic shirt. When Stephanie asked her about it, she said, “I just like to work and show my people that you can move forward with effort and work,” adding, “I want to represent that we live in a country that has given us many opportunities, and it is a way of saying, thank you for allowing us to be here.” Here’s the picture:
This story keeps getting better. Yes, busy late night in LA and Elizabeth (the owner) was still working and we were still chatting after one a.m.
She shared with me this picture of Telemundo interviewing her. I noticed she was rocking her red white and blue and so I asked her… pic.twitter.com/m9T3GKSCrf
— Stephanie🕊 (@stephsvox) June 9, 2025
There was some hesitation among X (and Reddit) users to post the name and location of the restaurant out of fear that rioters might retaliate against Mendoza and her staff, but Stephanie says that Mendoza gave her permission to do so. She said that everyone has been kind to her thus far.
Here’s what the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told Newsweek:
Without hesitation, the restaurant employees stepped in to assist the deputies, helping them decontaminate from the effects of the tear gas. Their immediate and selfless actions are a powerful reminder of the importance of community partnerships and the mutual trust we strive to build through community policing.
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I just thought this was a cool story that truly represents the American dream and the hard work many people put in each day to achieve it.
And it’s a stark contrast to the evil and violence that have taken over the streets of Los Angeles. It’s also just a nice human story in the midst of all the chaos, a reminder that everything isn’t awful.
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