How the L.A. Riots Hit Buster's

, the received about a dozen vandalism calls.

Yet nothing compared to the damage done to .

The coffee shop had only been open for about five years at the time, and owner Colette Richard was working the night of April 29, 1992, along with a few of her employees.

Buster’s was quite the hub then—and pretty much the go-to place in downtown South Pas. So it stayed open late until about 11 p.m.

There were no TVs or radios in the place. But Richards says she knew about the violent riots happening in L.A. thanks to a call from her brother at about 8 p.m.

As her brother and sister (co-owner Renee Richards) headed over to the family coffee shop—Richards planned on closing Buster’s slowly and letting people mosy out.

But that’s not what happened. At all. 

Instead, a group of three men in masks came to the store and threw sidewalk furniture through the windows breaking them all. Equipment inside Buster’s was also tossed and destroyed. And the register containing a few hundred dollars was stolen.

Luckily, no one was severely hurt. But thousands of dollars in damaged ensued. 

Here's an account of what went down from owners Renee and Colette Richards (owner Monica Barry was not present for the interview):

What happened?

“Guys came down the freeway—you know, college kids—all riled up … broke every window. They probably saw us open, and said, ‘Who do these people think they are?’ It was really bad. Things were in the backroom.” —Renee Richards 

How Did People React? 

“My really good friend at the time worked here, and she was behind the counter. The place was packed and people just hit the floor. People just pretty much ran for their lives. It was pretty crazy. … Unbelievable that no one was killed or seriously injured.” —Renee Richards

Who Got Hurt? 

"One woman broke her nose, and she did go to the hospital. She was sitting outside when they came and pushed her out of the way, and pushed the table through the window. There was a band playing here, and luckily they didn't get hurt. The film on the windows helped a lot; [the glass] broke but kind of just hung." —Colette Richards

The Aftermath?

“Some of [the patrons that night] didn’t come back for a really long time. Some of them stayed to talk to the police. Then we just closed up for a week. But we had to, because it was just totally busted up ... also the city was burning. We weren’t going to come back and open.” —Renee Richards 

How'd You Recover?

“What was really nice is that the community came—when we were closed—and seriously gave us like $5, $2 dollars, to help reopen. My contractor came and brought wood and boarded it all up. This little couple that comes in, they came down with their kids and gloves and just started helping. It was pretty amazing. One of those experiences I will never have again.” —Renee Richards

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