Small business is being hit hard in Minneapolis with ongoing immigration enforcement operations across the city.
Many are are scared to come out and in the case of a stretch of Nicollet Ave. where Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents on Saturday, people don’t want to frequent the area colloquially known as "Eat Street." The area for decades has housed many immigrant-focused restaurants.
Pho 79/Caravelle's owners say it's been awful.
"There were staff here at the restaurant when the shooting had happened, ICE were looking through the windows, were in the front door, in the back alley," says Marcy Tran. "But they were trapped here because of the blockade and because of the tear gas being deployed.
She says they have decided to do what they can to help people.
"Growing up as an immigrant, an Asian immigrant, how we care for each other is through food, and that's our love language," she says.
These free meals are meant to fuel connection, not profit.
Just down the street, the Black Forest Inn is also leaning into service, offering coffee, soup, and a warm place to gather.
"What do we do? Well, we do food and especially in the winter, kind of a cozy place, so, let's do that," said the owners of Black Forest.
It was at Nicollet and 26th that 37-year old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents, an incident captured on video and what appears to be a moment of de-escalation between the federal government and state and city officials.
Tuesday afternoon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement about his meeting with federal "border czar" Tom Homan, just deployed to Minneapolis to take over operations from Border Patrol Commandeer Greg Bovino and DHS Sec. Kristi Noem.
"I appreciated the conversation the Chief and I had with Border Czar Homan," read the statement from Frey's office. "During our meeting, I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to come to an end as quickly as possible. Public safety works best when it's built on community trust – not tactics that create fear or division. I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers. I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe. City leaders will continue to stay in conversation with Mr. Homan and his team.”