Minneapolis restaurants step up to help amid ICE presence

Wrecktangle Pizza owners Jeff Rogers and Breanna Evans said they had played through scenarios of how the business would respond if ICE agents visited their restaurants months ago, but nothing prepared them for the reality of this past week in Minneapolis.

“On Monday last week we hosted our Wrecktangala,” Rogers said of the free event for industry workers to celebrate the new year during the usually slow season. A week later, the street surrounding their restaurant at Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street was clouded by plumes of chemical spray.

It was the latest hurdle restaurants faced as the increased presence of immigration officials throughout the state has left them short-staffed because many workers, including natural-born citizens, are scared to show up. Yet owners are finding ways to share food and hope within their communities.

From donating profits and serving as donation drop-off sites for local food shelves to hosting movies for kids home from school, the hospitality industry is banding together to care for its neighbors and each other.

After closing their restaurant on Jan. 7, the day Renee Good was killed nearby, Evans and Rogers returned the following morning with a purpose: to make and share pizzas with as many people who needed it. For every pizza purchased, Wrecktangle would donate one of their frozen pizzas.

“There are people we know that are afraid to leave their house to get food,” Rogers said, and they wanted to help feed them.

The idea caught on, and on Jan. 9 they partnered with neighboring business Smitten Kitten to raise money and gather items to donate to local food shelves.

“It’s catastrophic for people and businesses,” Rogers said of the current climate. “For restaurants to try to operate with a third of their staff, for people who are afraid to go out and work. ... We’re business owners and we have to do what’s right for the business, but we have to do what we can for people.”

As an immigrant, community activist and owner of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, Tomme Beevas felt a heaviness that came with a familiar edge as news of Good’s killing spread through Minneapolis. His restaurant had been one of many that served as a resource drop in the wake of George Floyd.

“First I wept,” Beevas said. “It was my daughter who said, ‘Daddy, you’ll be OK. Go brighten people’s lives.’”

Like several other restaurant owners across the metro area, Beevas moved from sadness to action.

One of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen’s workers went to Target to load up on hot chocolate mix, Beevas tucked his U.S. passport into his pocket and together they drove the restaurant’s food truck to the makeshift memorial site for Good on Portland Avenue. They began serving warm cups of cocoa to those gathered.

At A Bar of Their Own, a Seward neighborhood bar centered on women’s sports, owner Jillian Hiscock said that while some staff members don’t feel safe leaving their homes, others have picked up shifts. And the diners and the staff who do show up understand the value of their community. “Our staff and team are so aware of the space that we’ve created,” said Hiscock.

Last week, after Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes for two days due to safety concerns, A Bar of Their Own hosted pajama, movie and coloring days.

“My wife and I don’t have kids, but I am at a complete loss for teachers and parents to have to explain what’s going on,” Hiscock said. She said it was a chance to use their space for good, even if it was just for an hour and a half to zone out on screens.

“I feel like everyone’s feeling pretty hopeless right now and we’re just trying to figure this out hour by hour,” she said. In addition to providing a family-friendly, safe and welcoming gathering space, she said they’re working with Lake Street Food Distro to host a food drive. Donations of whistles are expected to be refilled for those looking to carry them, a common tool used to alert people nearby of ICE’s presence.

All the restaurant owners we spoke with said things are changing by the moment, but they continue to rely on community support.