Minneapolis is celebrating its third annual Latino Business Week through Oct. 11, with events for business owners, and for community members to come shop at their local Latino-owned stores.
At a kickoff event Monday, city leaders and business owners said it’s especially needed after the federal immigration enforcement surge slowed down business this winter.
Rodrigo Cardoso owns a shipping and professional services business at Mercado Central, a Latino marketplace on Lake Street. He said recovery is underway ā but for many businesses, itās slow going.
āSome of them, thankfully, they have kind of recovered, although we have experienced, inside this building by itself, some losses of businesses that had to close, and some others are just trying to keep up,ā Cardoso said.
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And even before the immigration enforcement surge, those businesses were seeing drops in customers, dating back to the early days of President Donald Trumpās second term. Business owners cited fear over immigration enforcement in the community.
JosĆ© Payan of TortillerĆa La Perla kicks off Latino Business Week at Mercado Central in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Estelle Timar-Wilcox | MPR News
But the buildingās food court was busy Monday morning. Between the bright murals on the walls, shoppers filled tables with platters of menudo, tacos and pupusas.
JosĆ© Payanās family owns TortillerĆa La Perla, with a restaurant location inside the building. Payan said heās always glad to see more people find his restaurant ā both to keep up the business income, and to keep up the vibe in the building.
āWe have been a hub for the community itself. It’s becoming a major point for news and any major communications that we need to make to our community,ā Payan said.
Mayor Jacob Frey visited Mercado Central for the kickoff to the week.
āWe should be supporting Latino-owned businesses every day of the week, every week throughout the year, but this week especially,ā Frey said. āSupport all of the amazing businesses that are up and down East Lake, up and down Central Avenue, up and down Nicollet.ā
The weekās events are partly funded by relief money approved by Frey and the city council earlier this year, aimed at helping businesses recover from lost income during Operation Metro Surge.
Events this weekend will invite community members to check out their local businesses. A Latino business pop-up market is scheduled for Saturday along Historic Main Street. And Mercado Central will host a celebration on Sunday, inviting neighbors to come shop and participate in hands-on activities and demonstrations at the marketās restaurants.
More events throughout the week are geared towards business owners, with chances to network and learn skills.
