Tucked away in a Sun Valley strip mall, El Compadre market and restaurant was a neighborhood staple, selling handmade tamales, carne asada tacos, fresh pan dulce and an array of products imported from Mexico.
Patrons described it as the kind of friendly business where groceries could be bought on credit and friends could swing by on Friday for karaoke night.
But in the early hours of Sunday morning, the family-owned store was reduced to ash and rubble after a powerful blaze ignited inside…