Tasty Thai, a restaurant in Fresno, CA was forced to close after threats and false dog rumors spread online

Tasty Thai is an Asian-owned restaurant serving Lao and Thai food in Fresno, CA. Last week, the owners decided to close the restaurant because of threats stemming from false and racist accusations that they were abusing dogs and selling dog meat.

“Due to the high amount of threats and harassment we've received, we have decided to temporarily close for our own safety and the safety of our staff. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the restaurant said in a statement on Facebook.

Last Monday, after putting his kids to bed, David Rasavong told ABC30 that he noticed negative and offensive reviews for his restaurant. He quickly reported the comments, which Yelp removed, but the racist claims were posted over and over.

After doing his own investigation online, Rasavong found a video of a dog tied up to the home next to his restaurant. The person videoing confronts the owner of a dog who she thinks is being abused. ABC30 confirmed that the video was posted by Maria Alvarez Garcia and that she made accusations that the restaurant might be selling dog meat.

Rasavong says his family has zero affiliation and does not own or reside in any of the homes surrounding the restaurant. 

“Because we are an Asian-owned restaurant, we are being attacked and having these disgusting false claims about us,” Rasavong said in a video on Facebook. “It’s things I don’t even want to repeat. It’s disgusting. The fact that I have to say this right now breaks my heart. My parents, my family, we don’t deserve this. It’s not something that has any validity. The fact that people can make accusations based on our ethnicity is really, really, really disheartening.”

“I’ve always been proud to be an Asian American,” Rasavong continued in the video. “I’ve always been proud to be a community member of Fresno for the last 20 years of my life. The last few days [is] the first time I’ve felt sad about what’s going on. I thought our community was better than that.”

Now, Tasty Thai’s loyal customers (and prospective customers) are defending the restaurant online. See some of the comments here.