Restaurants across Minnesota’s Twin Cities say stepped-up immigration enforcement is reshaping how they operate — and scaring off both workers and customers.
The Minnesota Star Tribune spoke with several restaurateurs who described a growing sense of fear and uncertainty as ICE activity increases in the region. Owners told the paper they’re being forced to adjust in visible ways: locking doors and screening customers before entry, cutting hours, shifting to takeout-only service, temporarily closing, or consolidating space. Many are also running short-staffed, with owners covering multiple roles just to keep the lights on.
Rolando Diaz, who owns Marna’s Eatery and Lounge in Robbinsdale, said staffing has become a major challenge as some employees avoid coming in because they fear immigration enforcement.
“I’m a really positive guy, but I’m also very realistic,” Diaz told the local outlet, adding that ICE activity in the area is “not something that’s gonna be done in a week, so we’re just preparing for the hit now.”
Diaz compared the current climate to the pandemic — not because of illness, but because of the anxiety keeping people inside.
“During COVID, people were afraid to go out because they were afraid to get sick and die,” he said. “Now they’re afraid to get out of the house and never come back to it.”
Miguel Lopez, owner of Homi Restaurant on University Avenue in St. Paul, offered a similar comparison.
“We are pretty much back to COVID,” Lopez said.
He described customers and friends being stopped on their way to the restaurant and asked for documentation.
“I’ve had customers and friends that have been stopped on their way here and asked for papers,” he told the local outlet. “As a business, we’re hurting.”
The Star Tribune also highlighted Venezuelan-born restaurateur Soleil Ramirez, owner of Crasqui, who said she stopped taking walk-ins after a recent incident in which a man identifying himself as an ICE agent ate at the restaurant. Ramirez said community members then arrived to support the business and stayed until closing.
Ramirez said the situation has forced her to prepare for the possibility that she could be detained — not just for herself, but for the continuity of her restaurant.
She said she’s been training family members to run operations if she’s unable to.
“I need to have a plan B as a business person,” she said. “But also as a human.”
Other communities are feeling the pressure, too.
At Albi Kitchen near downtown Minneapolis, owner Fardowsa Abdul Ali said her café — known for Somali sweets and sambusas — was already struggling after a viral video about a nearby daycare spread online and included images of her business. The Star Tribune reported that Ali later faced harassment by phone connected to the video.
“I really lost a lot of customers,” Ali said. “They don’t come here.”
Ali said she has considered hiring security but can’t afford it.
“I don’t feel safe, to be honest,” she said. “I came to this country to be safe, not scared.”
