Lake Street is in a time of transition.

“The last couple of weeks, coming into the Cities felt a little weird,” says Nathan Hoialmen, visiting from Excelsior. “The last time we were here, it felt like the first time ever, looking over my shoulder, not knowing what to expect; we saw ICE vehicles driving around.”

There were no signs of ICE agents here Saturday — federal authorities say Operation Metro Surge is winding down, and Border Czar Tom Homan says most federal agents will be leaving this coming week.

RELATED: Border czar Homan: ICE surge in Minnesota ready to end, federal officers to withdraw over next week

But shoppers and merchants say they’re concerned about the future.

“I mean, greatly,” declares Kris Lake, the general manager of Bill’s Imported Foods. “We’re a store started by immigrants. All our customers are immigrants.”  

Even with the possible drawdown of the surge, he says the store is feeling the financial impact.  

“We’re seeing a major drop in sales, foot traffic; we supply restaurants too. They’re not buying like they used to,” Lake notes. “We used to be doing like $2,000 a day on the weekdays, six grand on the weekends. We’re seeing half that.”

Mayor Jacob Frey says the financial impact on Minneapolis from ICE operations has totaled more than $203 million.

RELATED: Frey: ICE operation put $200M dent in Minneapolis’ economy

“The damage caused by this operation has been staggering,” he told reporters Friday. “There is not free money. Right now, every dollar that is spent has an impact. There’s no magic pot that we can tap that does not have an impact on property taxes or other essential services.”  

A report released by the city says restaurant and small business losses totaled $81 million.

It also says there were $47 million in lost wages for people afraid to leave home to go to work.

The city also lost $4.7 million from hotel cancellations extending through the summer, the report notes.  

“So, I can understand people being uneasy about shopping locally and going out,” Hoialmen says. “I know we’ve got friends who own restaurants in Minneapolis who had problems with staff not being able to come to work.”

Wireless store owner Khalid Abdi says during the surge, his sales of devices plummeted from 250 a week to about 30.

He’s hoping the potential drawdown will bring his numbers back up but fears it will be a slow recovery.

“It has had a huge impact, for sure,” Abdi explains. “Customers will start going back to work; it might take a couple of months after they leave because people have to get back to being stable.”

Both Abdi and Lake say they’re interested in Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed $10 million relief package for businesses hit hard by the ICE presence.

RELATED: Gov. Walz proposes $10M relief package for businesses impacted by ICE

It’s not a done deal — the taxpayer-funded, partially forgivable loan program will have to be approved by state lawmakers.

Meanwhile, Mayor Frey says his staff is working on budget packages to be sent to the state and the federal government for assistance.

After the talk of the drawdown a week ago, Lake says he’s beginning to see a turnaround, from 10 to 20 customers on a Saturday during the surge, to nearly ten times that number now.

Still, he’s a bit wary.

“I mean all of us, we’ll believe it when we see it,” Lake says. “I don’t know, we’re all hopeful, the community’s strong, but we’re not holding our breath.”

For Related Stories: Business  Economy  ICE  Lake Street  Richard Reeve