Eugene Springfield Fire Department responded to a fire at Nelson’s Taqueria, a popular Latino restaurant, in the Whiteaker community at 1:18 a.m. on April 16. The fire is currently being investigated as a case of arson.
Nelson’s in the Whit is located at 394 Blair Boulevard. The business started as a food truck, Nelson’s Taqueria, which is still located in the parking lot of the restaurant.
The restaurant opened in 2021 and quickly rose in popularity, winning the Eugene Weekly’s Best of Eugene 2021 awards for Best Latin American Food and Best Food Cart. Nelson’s holds many events which involve the community such as drag shows, trivia nights, open mic nights, comedy shows and celebrations for holidays.
Owner Nelson Lopez and his husband TJ Mooney, who live roughly five minutes from the restaurant, arrived on the scene of the fire and found fire trucks and police on the scene. Lopez and Mooney both wrote on their Facebook page on April 16 they believe the fire was intentional.
The fire department was able to control the burn, but there was still substantial damage, the Nelson’s owners wrote on their Facebook page. The fire created holes in the building’s interior, some sections were exposed from the outside, and there was damage to the storage cooler. The owners are responsible for covering the costs of the damaged coolers, products lost and replacing equipment.
Nelson’s owners have been able to provide the police with security footage and worked with them as the investigation has progressed, but there have been concerns raised about how the police are handling the case.
“Eugene Police Department assigned our arson case to a detective who is on vacation and won’t be back for a WEEK,” Nelson’s in the Whit wrote on its Facebook page. “This treatment of minorities by the Eugene police department is appalling and we as a community are not going to stand for it any longer.”
Nelson’s was able to remain open with the clearance of their insurance company and held a busy Cinco de Mayo celebration. A friend of Lopez and Mooney started a GoFundMe page which has raised $3,680 of a $10,000 goal.
The EPD is asking the community for witnesses or information regarding this case to reach out to Officer Dave Clark at 541-359-9835 and use EPD case 23-05449.
