Amid ICE Raids, Running a Minneapolis Restaurant Is An Act of Resistance

"The front door is locked and we have the back door locked at all times. People have to wait for us to open the door. There are people of color who work for us who are all trying to do the right thing and go through the right processes, but they can be scared to come to work. We have people that have seen neighbors being snatched. It's no longer a Democrat versus Republican issue. It's a human issue."

"ICE is just kind of everywhere. When you live in a place where the population is only half a million people-there are 430,000 people in Minneapolis-to have 3000 federal agents around means they are everywhere. When we think back to all of the years working in restaurants, there's not a month or a season or part of the year that was as complicated as this one. What restaurants in the city are going through-nobody has an idea of what's happening."

"People can still make reservations at the restaurant. There's been a giant community call-out for ways to support places owned by people of color or women, and we communicate a lot with our restaurant friends, like chef Yia Vang, whose restaurant Vinai is right around the corner. What's helping is people wanting to go out and support these local businesses. We're all trying to do whatever we possibly can to help our employees, who are the base of everything we do."

Kate and Gustavo Romero run Oro by Nixta, a Minneapolis Mexican restaurant focused on diverse corn varieties and seasonal cooking. They keep doors locked and monitor entry because employees of color fear coming to work amid widespread federal immigration enforcement. Minneapolis has roughly 430,000 residents and about 3,000 federal agents, creating a sense that ICE is everywhere. Restaurant operations have become unusually complicated as staff may not show up day-to-day and owners coordinate with neighboring restaurants and community members. Community efforts to support businesses owned by people of color and women, and increased reservations after a James Beard semifinalist nomination, are helping sustain the restaurant and protect employees.

Read at Bon Appetit