Rich Archbold: Angels come to rescue of Hilda and Javier Ortiz and their dream store on Pine Avenue
Hilda Ortiz calls them “my angels.”
They are her friends and customers who came to her rescue Sunday, May 31, when vandals smashed the windows of her gourmet Kress Market store, on Pine Avenue at Fifth Street, in downtown Long Beach, where a protest — in the wake of a George Floyd, black man in Minnesota, dying on Memorial Day when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes — turned from peaceful to violent.
Hilda was inside, shaking and scared, but ready to fight to protect her dream of owning a store with her husband, Javier.
Hilda Ortiz, owner of the Kress Market, holds a golf club to protect her business. Kress Market is one of many Long Beach businesses that endured damage during the protest on Sunday, May 31. (Photo by Rich Archbold)
She grabbed an old golf club, a gift from a friend years ago, and was ready to use it on looters if they came inside. But she didn’t have to, as friends rushed to help her, forming a human chain on the sidewalk outside her store to keep looters away. They stayed until early morning on Monday, when clean-up started and windows were boarded up with plywood.
One of Hilda’s angels, who organized others, was Crystal Ortiz (no relation), a realtor with KnockTwice Realty Group. She lives in the Kress Lofts above the store.
At 6:30 p.m. May 31, she sent a message on social media: “If you can come to Kress Market, please do so now. Their windows are smashed in. We’re standing watch.”
Crystal told me that when she heard the glass shattering, she and friends ran to help Hilda and Javier. She said she helped put wine bottles in barrels and put them on an elevator to be taken to her loft for safekeeping. Javier earlier had put some of the meat products into a freezer in case there was trouble. It had been a chaotic afternoon, with more than 3,000 protesters milling about downtown streets, but most of the protests had been peaceful until earlier in the evening.
Crystal said she was saddened when she saw Hilda after the windows had been shattered by vandals “with big hammers.”
“Hilda was crying and in shock and kept saying, ‘Why are they doing this to us, our community,’” Crystal recalled. “We told her the looters were not her community.”
Crystal said a second group of potential looters came by later but didn’t come into the market because of the “angels.”
“One of the looters took a swing at one of our guys, but nothing happened and he moved on,” Crystal said. “Other people walked by carrying stuff that looked like it came from other stores.”
Crystal said she was glad she was able to help out the Ortizes because they’re such nice people who run a great store.
“I moved here about three years ago, and they were always friendly to me,” she said. “They are very hardworking people and love Long Beach. They didn’t deserve this.”
Handwritten signs taped on the Kress Market plywood last week said, “”Brown Owned Business,” “Black Lives Matter” and “We Love You, Long Beach.”
The United States Air Force Thunderbirds soar over Riverside Friday afternoon, May 15, 2020. The Thunderbirds flyover served as a salute to California’s frontline COVID-19 responders. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The Thunderbirds fly by County USC in Los Angeles on Friday, May 15, 2020 during a Southern California flyover to honor those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Agreeing with Crystal was Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, a frequent customer at Kress Market since it opened in 2010. He said his favorite lunch at their deli counter was a turkey sandwich with avocado.
“I was president of the neighborhood association before I got on the City Council so I’ve known Hilda and Javier a long time,” Garcia said. “They are one of the kindest couples I know. They are hardworking immigrants who put everything they had into their small bodega and market. This attack on their store was unacceptable.”
Garcia and Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna visited Hilda and Javier Monday morning to see how they were doing and offer their support.
Hilda was born in Ometepec, a city in the southwestern state of Guerrero, Mexico. Her husband is from Chihuahua, Mexico. When she came to Southern California to live, Hilda worked in real estate. Her husband was a computer engineer.
But they both had a love of food, especially healthy and organic food, and their dream was to own and operate a gourmet food market. Their opportunity came when the space on the first floor of the historic Kress building became available in 2010. Built in 1923, the Kress building was No. 152 in the department store chain founded by Samuel H. Kress.
“It was very difficult getting started at first,” Javier said. “We said a lot of prayers and things got better. We love Long Beach.”
Kress Market owners, Hilda and Javier Ortiz, were at their business last Sunday night when looters descended upon the downtown area following a Black Lives Matter protest. Today they are thankful to their community who swept in to help them in Long Beach on Thursday, June 4, 2020. The night of the protest Kress Loft residents ran to their aid and stopped looters from entering the store. They helped board up the business after the chaos and they are still helping by getting the windows replaced.
“I have no words to express my appreciation and gratitude to all the good neighbors and friends who helped guard the Kress Market and Deli,” Hilda said. “Because of you, the Kress Market looting was not as bad as other businesses. We love you guys. You are our angels. We are blessed.”
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