San Pedro woke up in disbelief on Sunday, December 14, just two days after opening its doors, Island Supermarket, the brand-new grocery store in the Tres Cocos area, was broken into, robbed, and then set on fire in the early morning hours.
For a business that had only just celebrated its grand opening, complete with promotions and even a golf cart raffle, this incident has left both the owners and the community stunned. Police and firefighters rushed to the scene sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., after reports of flames inside the building. Early indications/speculations suggest that the security camera cables were intentionally cut, signaling that whoever did this may have known exactly what they were doing. The extent of the losses has not yet been fully confirmed, but thankfully, no injuries were reported.
Despite the devastating setback, the owners of Island Supermarket are not giving up. In a heartfelt message shared with the community, owner Ahmad Harmouch spoke directly to San Pedro, not as customers, but as family:
“To our friends living in San Pedro, we consider you all like family. We are very sorry to tell you people broke into our family business and burned it on the second day open. We worked very hard this past year, and we saw how proud you were of us, your support meant everything.”
Island Supermarket Will Reopen
Ahmad went on to reassure the island that this is not the end for Island Supermarket:
“I promise the supermarket will be back again, and better, in two months or sooner. We will announce when we reopen. We appreciate your support. May God bless all of you, and we hope you never experience the suffering we are going through. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
His words reflect not just resilience, but gratitude, gratitude for the overwhelming support shown during opening week, and gratitude for a community that has always rallied behind those who choose San Pedro as home.
San Pedro, as we know well, rises stronger after every challenge. And while this incident has shaken many of us, it has also united us in support of a family who invested everything into building something new for our growing community. We look forward to welcoming Island Supermarket back; rebuilt, renewed, and wrapped in the love of La Isla Bonita.
-video provided by Dani Lagha
