KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
The owners of Bergie’s Bar and Grill, the Canyon Country restaurant that caught national attention after they were filmed harassing a fruit vendor, were caught on video verbally assaulting a pair of local business owners over the weekend, with one claiming that they later physically assaulted him with their car.
Berry x Bloom, a local business specializing in gift boxes of floral arrangements and chocolate-dipped berries among other treats, organized a Valentine’s giveaway in association with other local businesses, including Buono Italian Eatery.
Ed. Note: The following video includes explicit language, viewer discretion is advised.
On Saturday, Feb 6, at around 3 p.m., Berry x Bloom owner Brooklynn was making a visit to the home of Buono owners Nick Pearle and Ariel Seegull, to pick up their contribution for the giveaway, when the guest gate code she had been given for their Canyon Country neighborhood would not unlock the gate.
“The car in front of me, their gate code was not working,” Brooklynn said. “I told them ‘If you scoot up and I’ll put mine in.’ The code did not work.”
During this time, Bergie’s owners Mike Foster and Renee McAlonis reportedly pulled in behind Brooklynn, and became visibly upset over the fact that the gate was not opening.
“Renee jumped out of their car and started screaming at me, ‘Do you even f*cking live here? Ew, you’re disgusting, you don’t belong here,’” Brooklynn said.
Brooklynn then tried to defend herself, explaining the gate code was not working. She then began to film the incident. After verbally assaulting the young woman, McAlonis opened the gate, allowing the other cars waiting to enter the neighborhood.
However, she stood in front of Brooklynn’s car, as seen in the video, in an attempt to block her from coming into the neighborhood.
“When McAlonis turned her back on me, I backed up and I drove off,” Brooklynn said. “Mike is following me in his car, I’m in tears and frantic so I stopped the video to call Ariel and Nick to help me.”
Brooklynn said that the Bergie’s owners followed her around the neighborhood twice, and that she was “in fear for my life if I did stop.”
“I received a phone call from her crying, really scared, that the car had already followed her around the community,” Seegull recalled. “I yelled to Nick (that) she was being harassed at the gate, so he headed there.”
The car following Brooklynn had circled the gated neighborhood by the time Pearle returned to find Brooklynn and Seegull out front of their home, Arial added.
“Nick tried to flag them down and they swerved into him,” Seegull said.
“I lunged out of the way of their car,” Pearle recalled, “and only my arm was hit…”
See Related: Fruit Vendor Harassed By Business Owners In Canyon Country (VIDEO)
After the incident, the vehicle sped off and Seegull contacted the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, filing a report. Pearle’s arm was swollen and bruised after it was hit by a side mirror and window.
“We posted screenshots of the woman in the video and our neighbors recognized her as (McAlonis),” Seegull said. “A lot of them commented how they feel uncomfortable around her because they are Hispanic… There’s only two incidents on video, but this happens pretty regularly with them. We let the police know who it was.”
Pearle and Seegull believe the apology over the incident in the summer of 2020 was insincere, and that the Bergie’s owners need to be held accountable.
“I don’t want them to hide behind a fake apology,” Seegull said. “They targeted our friend because she’s a minority. They need to be held accountable.”
“They put my life in danger,” Pearle added. “At this point we’re nervous to let our kids out. They weren’t going slow, they tried to hit someone in the neighborhood.”
KHTS reached out to Foster and McAlonis for comment over the weekend, with no response as of Monday morning.
The owners of Bergies’ Bar & Grill are no strangers to controversy. Last summer, the pair were caught on video harassing a local fruit vendor.
“This isn’t the f***ing ghetto, it needs to go,” Foster said in the video.
The video garnered national attention and left thousands of residents outraged.
“The lady said we couldn’t sell because we didn’t pay taxes and because we were from Mexico,” the vendor told KHTS at the time. “We had water to have customers wash their hands, and they threw it on the ground.”
The Bergie’s Yelp page was later flooded with negative reviews as a result, prompting the site to have a warning for “unusual activity.”
“To target individuals who are just trying to make a living and to give them a hard time (…) it just made me really angry,” said resident Deanna Ford several days after the summer video had been posted. “They’re not doing anything wrong, they’re just trying to come out here and earn an honest living.”
Foster later apologized for the incident over the summer, stating that his main issue was the permitting for the fruit stand, and did not intend for the situation to reach the boiling point.
“We apologize for the entire situation,” Foster said at the time. “It got out of control, and it should not have gotten to that level.”
The business owner said the clip that went viral does not show the context, with several individuals reportedly surrounding Foster and his wife.
“The video does not show the whole thing,” Foster said. “I am not a racist.”
Foster added he has friends and customers “from all walks of life, and we do not discriminate at all.”
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Uh oh…looks like another heartfelt apology is in order.
Only racists feel the need to say, “I am not a racist” when their actions speak otherwise.
KHTS, please follow up on this story. From what has been reported so far we have verbal assault, assault with a deadly weapon and hit and run. What lovely people these dirt-bags are! They need to go away.
This human garbage keeps doing stuff that makes me wonder why anybody would support his business, but I’m glad you are reporting this so that those in this Valley can avoid him and his dive bar.
Wow KHTS is such a tabloid such great “journalism”
This is news? I don’t have high hopes for y’all but really?
the driver should be charged with a hate crime
Please get this woman some fruit!!! …
Can’t wait to see the charges filed for felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony hit and run. And if no charges are filed…then we’ll know there’s corruption.
If they were part of BLM, they would be praised and Denny NNWofLA and the other nut job Liberals would would burn the victim’s neighborhoods.
Racist much?
Hard hitting stuff KHTS. Maybe if you write a story this long about something that matters the community might respect you all a bit more.
I am deeply concerned by her erratic behavior. I think the food at Bergies is terrible but I don’t want her to either hurt someone or hurt herself. I understand the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s office is looking to make contact with her this week as they have been contacted and I believe they too are worried. I don’t think her actions can no longer be excused and those of us that have lived long enough have at some point regretted not intervening in the lives of those that are crying out for help. I’m not being funny, she will either hurt someone or God forbid hurt herself with this mental health crisis she is going through. In the mean time, I will most definitely not ever go to Bergies anytime soon as I am concerned something will set her off while I’m there.
Incredible … Seems they need anger management classes.
Social Media, trash media? We’re not talking about a tone deaf Kardasian bragging about their holiday woes. Let’s recap:
1. Bergie’s owners swerved into a Buono Italian Eatery owner, hitting his arm and causing swelling and bruising.
2. Bergie’s owners left the scene without offering aid.
If you swerve toward a pedestrian causing them to react in fear and you swerved away at the last moment, how is that different than drawing and pointing a gun? Both are capable of injury or death.
If I rob a liquor store with a fake gun, is it still armed robbery? You bet it is.
These armchair commando wannabes have a history of menacing our community. The public deserves to be on alert and bravo KHTS for your Public Service Announcement.
Agreed!! And I personally like being informed who the racist dirtbags are in our community. They should move these people don’t belong here. They bring down the neighborhood. I hope charges are filed and they are held accountable to their actions.
Another example of emotionally unstable people pushed to the limit with a year of COVID, loss of livelihood and experiencing our beautiful country degenerated to a 3rd world slum! No thanks to the condoning antagonist Liberals!
They have exhibited this behavior PRE Covid too. Nice attempt to blame Dems though.
Trumpers at their finest. Not smart enough to shut their mouths, but too much ego not to be filmed.
Boycott these trumptards and put them out of business. Money is all that matters
I think you need to sit this one out, Ricky.
KHTS, please keep us updated. I hope the Sheriff’s take this seriously. Harassment, vehicular hit and run. The community needs to be protected from these hostile people.
Good luck with that they both are retired sheriffs
These two are absolute trash, they need to be dealt with. Harshly.
I appreciate that KHTS brought the behavior of these business owners to the public’s attention. We don’t need or want people like that in our community. Folks need to avoid that business like the plague so that they will go away!
They were probably drunk.
I don’t see any political issues here , I see two alcoholics who feel entitled. She has a law enforcement background and is violent . Witnessed her fighting two men myself .
No one should support Bergies , the place is foul. The crimes committed , and they are crimes , should be punished to the fullest extent. And anyone that can’t respect the fact of their actions being wrong , well fly on bar flys to another bar. That one they own shouldn’t be open .
They had a back door policy during the pandemic, allowing for vulnerability of the virus to be spread . No one hears about that though ! What’s up SCV Sheriffs? Why are they above the law? Two reckless drunks . Respectable business owners don’t behave thus way and go unpunished .
Sad , hope justice comes before anyone else gets hurt .
Her tantrums are progressively worsening . Shame on her .
I certainly would never eat at Bergie’s. Or even go there to listen to music. Doesn’t look like a friendly place to be.
There is no political or racial issues here, they are just drunks and for some reason no one stops them!! I have seen her harass a disabled Veteran and not let him park in the handicap spot in front of Berggies! I used to go in there until that happened I even turned her into the County but they did nothing. I hope the Sheriff follows up
Why go to Bergies when the best tasting food in town is at Jimmy Deans on Lyons Ave. No gates to drive through and the best burgers and fries inSCV.
Interesting stuff to read. Keep it up.
While having a beer I met a woman who claimed to be the owner and she was drunk. This place is not clean. A mouse was running away when I was walking to the bathroom. I didn’t finish my beer, too grossed out and will not return.