Rioters and looters tore through the Lake Street businesses in south Minneapolis last summer after George Floyd was killed while in custody of four former Minneapolis police officers.
Now, the corridor is bracing for what the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former MPD office filmed while kneeling on Floyd's neck, might bring.
"There is concern around the possibility of any additional disturbance that could affect the business community," said Allison Sharkey, the Executive Director of the Lake Street Council.
Business leaders along Lake Street raised questions during a pair of forums led by Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. Those questions ranged from whether or not streets would be closed to how prepared the City of Minneapolis truly is for potential unrest.
Sharkey says there seems to be more confidence in the City's approach towards security before, during, and after the trial than there was following Floyd's death last summer.
"It feels very different this time around especially with the agreements between agencies in surrounding communities and the National Guard," Sharkey said. "It seems like there is a much greater level of preparation and that the fire department locally is part of those conversations."
Communication remains a key component for Lake Street as the corridor navigates through the trial which is set to begin on March 8. For now, the Lake Street Council is not telling businesses to board up their windows.
"When window were boarded up for several months, it tended to convey that Lake Street wasn't open for business and customers were often confused about which businesses were open and which ones weren't," Sharkey said. "We're encouraging people to continue to stay open for business. We need to do that for Minneapolis's economy."
Sharkey says a majority of the business along Lake Street have rebuilt following the last year's destruction. Many of the smaller businesses though are struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Some have opened just with partial hours or a lot of restaurants are only open for takeout still. It's really touch and go," said Starkey.
In early February, Cub Foods reopened its Lake Street location after being heavily damaged in last May's civil unrest.
