Cafe One’s new restaurant site vandalized with Nazi swastikas, owners seek community help.

Disturbing Vandalism

Disturbing vandalism utilizing Nazi hate symbols desecrated the new restaurant site that Cafe One is building at Highway 1 and Oak Street, the former location of the Piedmont Hotel.

Neighbors had reported a man entering the site over the last several seasons, but until now there had been no damage. That changed in the early morning hours of Thursday, when someone painted these horrific images across the property. The owners have contacted police, and we have as well. We will report back as we learn more.

Community, they need your help. On September 16th, around 3:30 a.m., there was another break‑in at the construction site on the corner of Oak and Main Street in Fort Bragg, where Cafe One is building its new restaurant. The individual tagged Nazi symbolism across the site and painted over pressure gauges, rendering them useless. If any neighbors or businesses in the area have cameras, the owners would greatly appreciate it if you could check footage from that time to see whether anything was captured.

Under California law, swastika vandalism can be charged as a hate crime if the symbol is used to target a person or group based on race or religion, or if it is painted on a house of worship.

Hate symbols are meant to intimidate, but they also reveal something else: the exact places where a community’s light needs to be turned up. And in Fort Bragg, that light comes from people stepping forward — checking cameras, sharing information, refusing to let this stand. Because symbols of hate don’t get the last word here. Community accountability does.