Daufuskie restaurant was allegedly vandalized. Here’s what really happened, police say
The owner of a Daufuskie Island restaurant who reported that her business was vandalized is facing a charge that she made up the story, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
The purported Aug. 2 trashing of Black-owned Geneva’s Joint had sparked an outcry because the owner said one of the white vandals used a racial slur before vandalizing the business.
During the investigation, the owner admitted causing the damage herself during a domestic dispute, according to Maj. Angela Viens, a Beaufort County sheriff’s spokesperson.
The owner was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center Friday for filing a false police report, a misdemeanor, according to the sheriff’s office. The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet typically does not name those charged with misdemeanors unless they are in a position of public trust.
The owner turned herself into authorities Friday, Viens said. She was expected to have a bond hearing Saturday morning.
Geneva’s Joint opened July 16 at 111 Benjies Road. The restaurant specializes in local seafood dishes and burgers. It was previously Lucy Bell’s Cafe.
The owner initially told authorities she was serving her last customer around 5 p.m. when four men, ages 27 to 35, came in and vandalized the business and threatened her.
One of the men, according to the sheriff’s office report, asked, “Is this place a colored-owned restaurant?” When the restaurant owner asked for clarification, the report says, the man raised his voice, cursed, repeated himself using a racial slur and smashed the screen on the computer at the register, then began vandalizing the business and throwing food around. The owner, the story went, ran out a back door and called police.
The owner also is facing an unrelated fugitive from justice warrant from Georgia, according to detention center jail logs. Details on the Georgia warrant were unavailable Saturday morning.
This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 11:34 AM.
