Grocery Store Fire Leaves Restaurant In Limbo

Last Wednesday, Lulu Ho, one of the owners of Red Chili, was sitting alone in the dining area of her restaurant at around 9:30 in the morning when she noticed smoke wafting past her window. She soon began to panic when she saw bright red flames peering over from her neighbors store.  

When she finally stepped outside, she saw that the store her restaurant shares a wall with, Great Indian Grocery Market, was engulfed in flames. 

“My hands were shaking because I’d never seen a fire so close,” said Lulu. “It was very scary.”

According to Lulu and her husband, Sunny Ho, the owners of the Great Indian Grocery Market had been at the scene when the fire began and were already on the phone with a 911 dispatcher by the time Lulu made it outside. The Hayward Herald reached out to the Great Indian Grocery Market but did not hear back from them by the time of publishing this article. 

While the initial shock of the fire has worn off, Lulu and her family are still left with questions and uncertainty. Lulu and her family say they still don’t know how the fire started. According to the couple, no one was injured at the scene. But the damage from the fire has forced the Red Chili owners to temporarily shut down the location, which has been in Hayward for nearly 22 years. 

“We might reopen again if we do it quick enough,” said Sunny Ho, co-owner of the Red Chili. “Otherwise, we don’t know.” 

At first the Red Chili didn’t appear to have any serious damages, said the family. But upon further inspection, the family said the wall connecting the two stores will need to be rebuilt along with fixing the broken ceiling, and replacing the carpets due to damage caused by the smoke. They estimate the repairs may take two or three months to complete. 

But with no clear re-open date in sight, the owners of the restaurant said they were left with no choice but to lay off their 20 person staff team, some of which had worked at the restaurant for a decade.

“They were just shocked,” said Sunny, “All of sudden they are out of work and they were just sad.” 

For now, the family says they will continue working at their San Jose location under the same name. But Tiffany Ho, the daughter of Lulu and Sunny, says the Hayward location brought in much of the revenue needed to cover their expenses. 

“We’re lucky to have our store in San Jose,” said Tiffany. “It just puts more pressure on that store alone to be able to cover all of our expenses.” 

According to the Great Indian Grocery Market’s Google Reviews page, the store is temporarily closed. The store, located at 29587 Mission Blvd, had just celebrated its grand opening in October of last year. 

The Aftershock 

In a post shared via Red Chili’s Instagram page, the family shared clips of the fire to notify customers of the temporary store closure and have since received an outpouring of support from their customers.

Sunny says that people even stopped by the restaurant to check in with them after the fire. “They hope we can open again because they love our food,” he said. “Because we’ve been there many years.”

Sunny and his family say they feel grateful for the support from the community. But the family is still dealing with other emotions after the fact, including frustration. 

After the initial shock of the fire wore off, Lulu said she began to feel frustrated by her neighbor's lack of action during the fire. She says no one attempted to alert her of the fire or checked to see if other people were inside Red Chili. 

“I was surprised. How come my car is parked right here but no one try to inform me a little bit?,” said Lulu, referring to her car being parked directly in front of the store that day. 

Her daughter, Tiffany says that while they feel frustrated, they also feel sympathy for their neighbors. In the same Instagram Post, the family encouraged their followers to show support for the Great Indian Grocery Market. Tiffany says she hopes they see the positive comments people have left for them. 

“I mean even though there's a little bit of frustration, it’s still very sad for our neighbors,” said Tiffany, who works at Red Chili and helps run their social media accounts. “Obviously that doesn’t take away the fact that they did lose their entire store. Their damages were 100 times worse than ours.”

Cal State East Bay Spanish Degree Program Saved—for Now

Written by Chris McNicholas of The Pioneer

California State University, East Bay President Cathy Sandeen and Provost Anthony Muscat announced in a joint statement last Monday that the university’s Spanish bachelor’s degree program will be extended for an additional academic year after previously being slated for elimination by spring 2027. 

The decision follows concerns raised by students, faculty, and community members, including state Assemblymember Liz Ortega, over the planned discontinuation of the Spanish B.A. program. Critics argued that eliminating the program would provide no fiscal benefit for the university, conflict with CSUEB’s mission as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and negatively affect its Hispanic/Latinx students, who make up about 40% of the student population. 

In their statement, President Sandeen and Provost Muscat described these perspectives as “thoughtful, constructive, and important in prompting a refinement of our approach.”

Faculty in the Spanish B.A. program expressed optimism following the new decision.

“I see the extension as a meaningful and welcome step,” said Gabriela Díaz-Dávalos, an assistant professor in the Department of Writing, Languages, and Literatures. “It reflects the fact that students, faculty, staff, and community members made clear that the Spanish BA matters, and that its discontinuation would have significant consequences.”

Díaz-Dávalos said she believes the program will continue to grow.

“I do think the recent attention has made more students aware of the program, and that visibility may help increase interest even further,” she added. 

The Spanish B.A. program was originally identified for discontinuation by the university’s Focused Program Review Taskforce. Its 2024-25 report cited low enrollment for the Spanish degree program, though enrollment rose by the fall 2025 semester. 

As part of the decision to extend the Spanish B.A., President Sandeen and Provost Muscat also announced a new program review process designed to better assess financial and enrollment indicators while more closely considering student and workforce demand. When the Spanish B.A. program is up for its 5-year review by the 2026-27 academic year, it will be evaluated under the new review process.

“Allowing another year will afford the Spanish BA program a full review through the standard shared governance process, including departmental self-study, dean review, CAPR analysis, and Senate consultation,” the statement said. “The provost will then… take a more direct role in providing specific future actions for Spanish and all departments going through the academic program review process.”

Although faculty members described the extension and new review process as positive steps, they do not ensure the long-term security of the Spanish B.A. program. 

“I think the administration should continue to evaluate the program in light of the university’s mission as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the important role Spanish plays in our region, our student population, and workforce preparation,” Díaz-Dávalos said.

Students can also help shape the future of the Spanish B.A. program by continuing to voice their concerns and taking action. 

Díaz-Dávalos added, “In addition to enrolling, students can speak publicly about the value of the program, share how it supports their academic and professional goals, and remain engaged in the conversation about its future.”

President Sandeen and Provost Muscat said it was never their intention to eliminate the entire Spanish program, emphasizing that students will continue to have opportunities to learn Spanish moving forward. 

“The Spanish program provides a variety of classes that serve a large number of non-majors. That demand remains strong,” their statement said. “Spanish remains essential to our academic and regional community service mission.”

This story was originally published in The Pioneer Online on April 6, 2026