Riots, arson leave Minnesota communities of color devastated

Now, ethnically diverse neighborhoods are grappling with the loss of jobs, services and investments. 

Link to Star Tribune Article

“People right now are going to want to stay away from Lake Street and that is understandable,” said Ricardo Hernandez, who owns an ice cream shop there called La Michoacana Purepecha. Workers gave away free Popsicles over the weekend after the shop lost power in the riots.

“It’s very hard to see your whole life savings go down like this. We used up all our money to build something nice for ... not just the Latino community, but everybody,” Hernandez said.

Continued:

Although La Michoacana Purepecha had only minor damage from vandals, he expects a loss of business as many nearby establishments burned and the area remains under threat. His 20 employees, all Latino, are out of work until the neighborhood returns to normal.

On the same block, immigrant Luis Tamay saved for more than a decade to open his Ecuadorian restaurant, El Sabor Chuchi, seven years ago. His specialty was a soup called encebollado, made with tuna fish, yuca, fried plantain and onions. Tamay guarded his lifelong dream the first few nights of the riots, but stayed home on Friday night to abide by the curfew, assuming that he had nothing to fear with the National Guard in town.

He was aghast to see Facebook videos showing El Sabor Chuchi in flames — and even more so when he called 911 for help in vain. By the time Tamay got to his restaurant Saturday morning, it was burned to the ground, along with establishments on either side. He didn’t have insurance, he said, because quotes for the neighborhood were too high. The father of two was already working hard to pay his employees and other bills.

“There’s the freezer right there; the kitchen was right there,” Tamay said, pointing as he climbed the pile of rubble. “Seventeen years of work is gone.”