loading . . . LINCOLN SQUARE — Members of Chicago’s small business community are joining Friday’s nationwide general strike to protest the violent federal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota and beyond.
Friday’s action comes as people in the city and across the United States look for ways to resist. Seven people were detained at a Target store in the West Loop during a protest Thursday night calling for the retailer to denounce increasingly violent immigration enforcement operations, most recently in Minneapolis, the Tribune reported.
The Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz this fall in Chicago resulted in federal agents killing a father of two and shooting a woman five times in separate incidents, among other acts of violence. In Minneapolis, agents have killed mother Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti, sparking rallies and vigils in Chicago in solidarity with the victims.
Now, some Chicago businesses are heeding the call for a general strike Friday. They’re either closing their doors or donating profits from Friday’s sales to nonprofits advocating for immigrant rights.
“People say that you shouldn’t talk politics with your hairstylist or your barber or whatever. But it’s very much something that’s always in the forefront with us and our clients,” said Amanda Simmons, who co-owns Rev. Billy’s Chop Shop. “All of our clients were very much in support of this, too.”
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Amanda and her husband, the Rev. Billy Simmons, co-own the shop at 2424 W. Montrose Ave. The pair conferred with their other stylists before agreeing to close Friday, she said.
Nick Mayo — who co-owns Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles, 2845 N. Milwaukee Ave., and The Brewed, 2843 N. Milwaukee Ave. — said his two Northwest Side businesses would also close Friday.
“We’re privileged to be able to absorb the cost of this decision. Obviously, there’s no resentment toward people that can’t. It’s a crazy time. Everyone has to do what they can, where they can,” Mayo said. “For us, just to be able to make the choice, the loss that we are personally choosing to take, is nothing compared to the loss that so many other people don’t have a choice in.”
Joining in the national strike effort is an attempt to feel community with people across the national reeling from the recent violence, Mayo said.
“Living through the times that we’re living, it can be very defeating seeing just how the machine grinds through these communities,” Mayo said. “We’re trying to figure out how we can make any kind of impact. And if getting behind a strike starts conversations with people that may otherwise not have considered the severity of the situation, that makes us feel like we did something.”
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Hundreds of rallies and other actions are planned Friday as part of the call for a national shutdown led organizers in Minnesota. Organizers are asking people across the country to not go to work, attend school or shop in an effort to “stop ICE terror.”
“Every day, ICE, Border Patrol and other enforcers of Trump’s racist agenda are going into our communities to kidnap our neighbors and sow fear,” according to the group’s website. “It is time for us to all stand up together in a nationwide shutdown and say enough is enough.”
Chicago businesses that can’t afford to close Friday are still standing in solidarity with the shutdown effort in other ways.
Lincoln Square’s Merz Apothecary, 4716 N. Lincoln Ave., will donate profits from in-store and online sales to nonprofit Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, owner Anthony Qaiyum said.
“Being open for people who may need help, especially during this time of year when the weather is really cold and there’s a lot of sickness going around feels like part of our duty to the community,” Qaiyum said.
Qaiyum said that making sure the coalition benefits from Friday sales was the “biggest lever I can pull” as a small business seeking to remain sustainable in a difficult economy.
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Lakeview’s mfk. restaurant at 432 W. Diversey Parkway will also donate 100 percent of Friday’s profits to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Co-owner Taryn Shaw said that closing Friday — after a recent cold snap and a previous closure amid ownership changes — wasn’t feasible.
“We have a super small team. There’s eight people that work there, so we owe it to our team to have service. We have 52 reservations already in a restaurant that seats 25 people,” Shaw said. “So we figured we can actually use this as an opportunity to create a bigger donation” to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Closing Friday also meant that produce and other items ordered for the weekend wouldn’t be used. By donating Friday’s profits to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the restaurant’s staff can still get paid, Shaw said.
“I think above all, solidarity and community and just being vocal and not shying away from where we stand is super important,” Shaw said. “And of course, being a restaurateur in this country and in this city, to stand anywhere other than on the side supporting immigrants is hypocritical and unforgivable.”
Below is a partial list of other small businesses either closing or donating part of their sales Friday to benefit nonprofits advocating for immigrant rights in solidarity with the general strike.
_Know of a business missing from this list? Email [email protected]._
## **Businesses Closed Friday**
* Andrew Rafacz Gallery, 1749 W. Chicago Ave.
* Anticonquista Café, 952 W. 18th St.
* Astra & Arrow, 2064 N. Damen Ave.
* Backlot Coffee, multiple locations
* Bueno Days, 2901 W. Cermak Road
* Casa Cactus, 4595 N. Elston Ave.
* Chicago Bagel Authority, multiple locations
* Door 24 Wine, 2124 N. Damen Ave.
* Firefly Fiber Arts, 2860 N. Milwaukee Ave.: Closed for retail but open 2-8 p.m. Friday for a zine-making workshop.
* Judson & Moore Distillery, 3057 N. Rockwell St.
* Katherine Anne Confections, multiple locations
* Layers Chicago, 2052 W. North Ave.
* Pie, Pie My Darling, 2636 W. Chicago Ave.: Closed, but people with pre-arranged cake pickups can still come for their orders.
* Pretty Cool Ice Cream, 2353 N. California Ave.
* Restoried Bookshop, 4613 N. Kedzie Ave.
* Rooted Living, 2918 N. Milwaukee Ave.
* Sad Heart Vintage, 1841 W. Chicago Ave.
* Stockyard Coffeehouse, 558 W. 37th St.
* Sugar Moon Bakery, 3612 W. Wrightwood Ave.
* Sunnyside Plants & Gifts, 4800 N. Milwaukee Ave.
* Vaca’s Creamery, multiple locations
## **Businesses Donating Portion Of Sales**
* City Lit, 2523 N. Kedzie Ave.: 20 percent of Saturday and Sunday sales donated to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* Embellish Chicago, 4161 N. Lincoln Ave.: 15 percent of Friday sales donated to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* Kanin, 5131 N. Damen Ave.: a portion of Friday profits donated to local immigration rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
* Lost Girls Vintage, multiple locations: 20 percent of Friday sales donated to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* Sugar Moon Bakery, 3612 W. Wrightwood Ave.: 20 percent of Saturday and Sunday sales to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* thrd coffee, multiple locations: 20 percent of Friday sales donated to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* Lao Peng You, 2020 W. Chicago Ave.: 25 percent of sales donated to CHAAD project.
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