A west-side piñata business is a total loss after a suspicious fire Tuesday evening. But surveillance video could help them figure out if it is arson.
The owner of Cuevas Piñatas, Cynthia Cuevas, said that cameras pointing to the front of her business were mysteriously moved.
"I am so lost," he said. "I don't even know where to begin."
For the first time in 25 years, Cuevas is unemployed, and not by choice.
"It all burned," she said. "Every dollar that I had burned."
Fire investigators said it is suspicious and are still trying to find the cause.
"It is a disaster," she said.
Everything she had inside the shop is pretty much gone, $1.5 million of her livelihood barely recognizable.
"Every inch of this property had a piñata," she said. "There is probably over 50,000 piñatas that fit into this whole space, and I probably had [60,000], and that is not even exaggerating."
She had just opened back up after closing down for a year due to personal reasons.
"August 1 was our first day open," she said. "October 1, 2, I am now empty-handed."
The self-made business owner is literally picking up the pieces trying to salvage anything that's left. She doesn't know why anyone would want to burn down her business.
"I am completely oblivious," she said. "If someone purposely did this, why would they? If I owed you $10, this is a million dollars. It makes no sense. If I owed you a piñata? I mean really. I just don't know. I genuinely have helped everyone that has come through my door."
Cuevas is now asking the public for help. She said she has no capital to start over, and because she just opened up a year ago, she only had minimal structure insurance. Thankfully, no one was injured.