Normally bustling with colorful storefronts, longtime restaurants and locally owned businesses, Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis has felt unusually quiet this month due to increased Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the area. That shift is echoed by Recovery Bike Shop co-owners Elizabeth Richardson and Seth Stattmiller.
“It’s been very important to our staff to be open so that we can be here as a resource,” Richardson told the Northeaster on Jan. 10.
The word “resource,” in this case, means allowing those that are protesting ICE raids to warm up and use the restroom in their shop — something that was encouraged by local leaders, including City Council President Elliott Payne and State Senator Doron Clark, D-Minneapolis, Richardson said.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security have replied to requests for comment on this story.
The co-owners say daily ICE raids have impacted foot traffic. But they say their own employees and other citizens have taken to the streets with whistles to try and deflect ICE operations that have been taking place.
“To me, it just means we just gotta show up. We just gotta keep being the counterpoint,” Stattmiller said. “We’re staying here, we’re staying open, we are all coming together in ways that we haven’t seen before.”
The Northeaster spoke with numerous other business owners who have also made an effort to act as a resource for those protesting ICE raids and share the same sentiment.
Several businesses on Central Ave. have signs on the front door reading messages such as “federal agents not permitted on premises” and “ICE is not allowed here. We know our rights.” This included
Recovery Bike Shop, as well as findfurnish down the street.
“We can either take each of these as an attack — which it is,” findfurnish Managing Partner Brian Wilcox told the Northeaster. “We can also take it as an opportunity to define who we are and not by (ICE), but defining it ourselves and saying, ‘All right. Well, we want to have our community be this.’
“I think it’s imperative of any business to stand up and say what they believe.”
Elsewhere on Central Avenue
Alongside Recovery Bike Shop and findfurnish, others have also been vocal about their stance against the ICE activities taking place on Central Ave.
Bar Oscar, formerly known as Dutch Bar, posted on social media that they closed for the evening on Jan. 8 so their staff could join in on gatherings and protests following the death of Renee Good in South Minneapolis.
“We must protect and support our restaurant community, and our community as a whole,” the post read in part.
A few blocks away, PILLLAR — a coffee shop, skate shop and concert venue — is “doing everything that we can to keep our doors open,” owner Corey Bracken told the Northeaster. He added that they’re prioritizing employee safety and working closely with local leaders to safely help those that are being targeted by ICE agents.
Bracken detailed two specific instances where crowds of people on Central Avenue, along with local leaders, stepped in during ICE operations to try and stop arrests. He mentioned an altercation on Friday Jan. 9, in which a crowd had seemingly successfully gotten ICE agents to leave the area.
Most recently, he detailed what occurred on Sunday, Jan. 11, which again was recapped on a video posted to Instagram — this time featuring State Senator Doron Clark and City Council President Elliott Payne. Bracken says this event occurred during a music performance at PILLLAR, during which ICE detained two people. Bracken says many in the audience went to legally observe and protest; he added that ICE used force against demonstrators, including the use of mace and batons. PILLLAR then canceled that evening’s event.
Sam Rabie, owner of Mecca Linen, told the Northeaster that ICE activity has impacted his business by “80 percent” in the past week. He said multiple employees have stopped coming into work because of fears related to ICE activity. “There’s no employees, no customers,” he said, adding that, if nothing changes, he anticipates being able to stay open for “maybe a month.”
At time of reporting, Mecca Linen has undertaken additional security measures at its entrance.
“We don’t want ICE here,” Rabie continued. “That’s it. They’re doing their jobs as federal agents, but they could look for criminals. They’re taking our good people.”
As federal enforcement activity continues to affect daily life along Central Avenue, business owners say their response has been rooted in solidarity rather than fear. For many, staying open and standing together has become both an act of resistance and a reaffirmation of the values that define Northeast Minneapolis.
“We do not need a violent revolution — we just need people standing together and we can make a better world out of horrible circumstances,” Richardson said.
“We believe that people are more important than the place they were born,” Stattmiller added.
The line for screen printing stretched into the hallway outside of Art Price Studio on January 11. (Davis Steen)
Bring a shirt, get protest art
Elsewhere, on January 11, a line of people, each holding a blank shirt, stretched out the door of Art Price Studio, 77 13th Ave. NE.
“So, I set up this place as a screen-printing cooperative,” Art Price said. “I made eight designs on Thursday (January 8), posted about it, and — I did not have the wherewithal to have a lot of shirts, but I have a lot of ink.”
Price is an artist and owner of the studio. The co-op space is usually used to teach T-shirt screen printing and eraser stamp making classes.
Art Price trained volunteers while catching up with the line, which got longer throughout the early afternoon. (Davis Steen)
The eight designs are pieces of protest art with an anti-ICE stance. People brought in their shirts and told Price which of the designs they wanted; Price then made them for free.
“I print on it. No charge,” Price said. “The caveat is that we are damaging your shirts. If you give us your shirt, we’re damaging that.”
Price completed over 25 shirts during the interview, while three volunteers assisted, but the line only grew, taking over the shared hallway. Well over 100 people waited to get their shirts “damaged.” According to Price, over 1,000 pieces were printed prior to January 11.
“We are willing to wait in the line,” one person toward the end of the line said. “I’m not sure what design I’m getting yet.”
The process involved inking the shirts then putting them under heat, thus “damaging” the shirt for good. (Davis Steen)
Despite the crowd, the halls were relatively quiet, respecting the shared space of the studio. Most people had their heads down, waiting for their chance with Price’s art.
Price said, after the day of printing was done, “I wanted to be of service.”