An East Bay business owner is being forced to close her flourishing hair salon after an arsonist set fire to the shop over the weekend, wiping out a lifelong dream in mere minutes. The beauty shop, which specializes in weaves, braids, and cuts, has been a favorite spot in downtown Antioch for the past six years. Today, the storefront is boarded up. “I’m completely and utterly heartbroken,” owner Lala Perry said after the fire broke out early Sunday morning. While firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the back of the business, the intense smoke and heat left everything inside unusable. “It melted the plastic drawer, my mop, bucket, the lights,” Perry said. Officials assessed the building and informed Perry of the extensive ruin. “They said the walls are gonna have to be stripped. The flooring is going to have to be stripped. They’re gonna have to repair the structural damage,” she said. Firefighters confirmed the fire was intentionally set. “He said with certainty that it was arson, and it was started from the outside of our back door,” Perry noted. Fire investigators are currently reviewing surveillance video from a nearby business that shows a person on a bicycle pedaling into the alley behind the shop. A few minutes later, the individual pedals out as flames start to flare up. Investigators say they cannot confirm at this time if the bicyclist is connected to the fire, but they believe he may have information that could help the investigation. “The moment he races out of the alley is 4:57 a.m.,” Perry said. “I get my first alarm notification at 4:56 a.m. right before he races out.” The fire has severely impacted the livelihoods of five stylists at the salon. “This is our livelihood. This is the only way we make our money,” stylist Trenae Payton said. “I don’t have another job. I don’t have a 401(k). This is how I feed my two sons, 3 and 5. This is it. … I love this hair. I love [what I do].” The sudden closure has also left loyal customers upset. “The fact that they’re not gonna be here and maybe not even downtown, that’s sad,” customer Jacqueline Williams said. For Perry, a single mother who put her heart and soul into building her business, it feels like her life’s dream has been taken. She has started a GoFundMe campaign to replace what was lost and to relocate elsewhere. Despite the devastation, Perry remains defiant. “They lit a fire in our shop. We’ve got a fire under our butts,” Perry said. “We’re ready to keep going. We’re not giving up in any way, shape or form.” ...read more read less