Colorado restaurant reopens more than 1 year after arsonist forced business to close
It's been over a year since three Greenwood Village businesses off Arapahoe road were forced to close after an arsonist broke into them and started a fire. Now, one of the restaurants, Sahara Restaurant, is the second to reopen its doors to customers.
"We're very lucky to be back and be back strong," said Loubna Zouiten, the owner and founder of Sahara. "It's great having everyone back."
Zouiten recalls the January night in 2024 when she got the call about an arsonist breaking into the business next door, Fuji Hibachi and Sushi, and starting a fire. That restaurant suffered much of the fire damage, while Sahara suffered most of the smoke and water damage.
Zouiten hoped it would be an easy cleanup and fix to get the restaurant back open. She believed it would be closed for a couple weeks or months at most, but it ended up turning into a 14-month closure for them, and more than $1 million in damages.
"The smell was pretty bad. The restaurant looked fine, but then you start touching things, and it's black, just the ashes everywhere," Zoutien explained. "We knew it wasn't going to be an easy fix."
Everything had to be replaced, including the kitchen equipment, the walls and paint, and the fire system itself. Zoutien has owned the business for 32 years and had the option to relocate but didn't want to.
"We wanted to stay here and keep our customers because we have people that been coming here since 1993," Zoutien said.
Sanna Wood has been a regular since the restaurant's start.
"We've been coming here for quite some time," Wood said. "My kids were really tiny when we started coming here. I've been here with family with friends, and we've introduced the place to so many people, and they absolutely love it."
Wood has already been back three times since the restaurant reopened several weeks ago.
"We're very happy to be back," Wood said. "This is home away from home."
The SportsBook Bar & Grill was also burglarized a number units down, and the arsonist set fire to that business as well. The sports bar reopened in January.
Arapahoe County deputies detained the suspect at a nearby intersection that January night. The suspect, Jerrell Q. Bailey, was facing charges of burglary, arson, criminal mischief, menacing and theft. Bailey also broke into a third business, Rodizio Grill that night, after breaking into the sushi restaurant and sports bar. Greenwood Village Police Department was lead on the investigation, while South Metro Fire investigated the arson.
Zouiten says, for her business, delays piled up, including dealing with insurance, and contractors pulled permits. Then, they began redesigning the business from top to bottom. She said, while it feels like opening a new business, it also feels like a new beginning.
"The positive side about it is that it's a brand-new restaurant, and it feels really good," Zoutien said. "It's just a fresh start, a fresh place, so it turned out OK at the end."
