Local Businesses Step Up With Free Food and Supplies During Minnesota’s Economic Blackout
On a freezing Friday morning in Powderhorn, a south Minneapolis neighborhood shaken by recent violence and heightened federal activity, the smell of pancakes filled the air at May Day Cafe. While hundreds of businesses across Minnesota closed their doors in observance of a general strike and economic blackout, a handful chose a different path, shutting down normal operations but opening their spaces to the community for free food, warmth and resources.
May Day Cafe Becomes a Community Refuge
At May Day Cafe, worker-owner and cook Sunny Draves-Kellerman stood at the griddle, preparing stacks of pancakes. The goal was at least 150, but they were ready to make more if needed. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the cafe offered coffee, pancakes and soup free or by donation.
For Draves-Kellerman, staying open during the blackout aligned with the cafe’s core values as a worker-owned cooperative and neighborhood gathering place. With increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area, the cafe has taken on a new role. Whistles often sound outside, signaling possible ICE presence, and staff and customers step out together to observe what’s happening.
“It’s beautiful to see people come together like that,” Draves-Kellerman said, describing a sense of mutual care between the cafe and the community. Since the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good, they say many neighbors have been seeking spaces that feel safe, warm and welcoming.
Neighbors Finding Comfort and Solidarity
Inside the cafe, the atmosphere reflected that need, warm colors, wooden tables and shared meals. At one table, a local mother ate pancakes with her seventh-grade daughter. The family lives just blocks away, and she said some of her child’s classmates have stopped attending school amid fears tied to federal immigration enforcement.
When she first heard about large-scale enforcement plans months earlier, she said she was overwhelmed with grief. Seeing neighbors come together, she explained, felt like a powerful response, a shared antidote to despair.
Street-Level Vigilance in Bitter Cold
A few blocks away, despite temperatures well below zero, small groups gathered around fires on neighborhood roundabouts. Bundled up with whistles around their necks, they kept watch for ICE vehicles. The goal, they said, was simple: look out for one another and stay connected during what feels like an attack on their neighbors.
Similar scenes played out across Powderhorn, with people positioning themselves throughout the area to keep eyes on the streets.
Pilllar Forum Turns Into a Community Hub
Across the city in northeast Minneapolis, Central Avenue, lined with international markets, cafes and restaurants, has also seen increased federal enforcement activity. Pilllar Forum, a coffee shop and music venue, closed its regular business but opened its doors for a community potluck and free coffee.
Inside the small space, it was packed. Whistles, hand warmers and protest signs filled the room. A nearby resident named Sophie said she had personally witnessed federal agents detaining people in the area and expressed frustration with what she sees as limited visible support from some local leaders.
When the Community Pushes Back
Pilllar Forum owner Corey Bracken said the coffee shop has naturally become a meeting point as enforcement activity intensified. Earlier in the week, city and state leaders joined neighborhood patrols nearby when ICE officers surrounded a woman’s car. A crowd gathered, demanded the agents leave, and eventually watched as they drove away, a moment Bracken described as deeply empowering for the community.
On a typical Friday, the venue would host live music. Instead, the stage area held tables stacked with donated food, vegetables, hummus, fruit and cookies. Bracken initially planned to cover the cost of free coffee himself, but once word spread, donations arrived from both locals and supporters across the country.
A Message of Care and Resistance
Outside Pilllar Forum that afternoon, children and parents walked past in a small anti-ICE demonstration, reinforcing the message that even in extreme cold, community presence matters.
Across Minneapolis, these small businesses sent a clear signal during the economic blackout: even when commerce pauses, care does not. Their doors may have been closed to customers, but they were wide open to neighbors looking for warmth, solidarity and hope.
