{"id":552338,"date":"2026-01-29T20:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/552338\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T20:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:26:15","slug":"some-new-york-restaurants-are-joining-the-general-strike-against-ice-raids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/552338\/","title":{"rendered":"Some New York Restaurants Are Joining the General Strike Against ICE Raids"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue their raids across America, activists and celebrities are calling for a general strike<\/a> on Friday, January 30, to end the federal agency\u2019s actions in Minnesota and elsewhere in the country. Many restaurant owners and workers in New York plan to join the cause.<\/p>\n

In recent months<\/a>, ICE and Border Patrol agents have killed Alex Pretti<\/a> on January 24 and Renee Nicole Good<\/a> on January 7 in Minneapolis; Silverio Villegas Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a> on September 12 in Chicago; Isaias Sanchez Barboza<\/a> in Texas on December 11; Keith Porter<\/a> in Los Angeles on New Year\u2019s Eve; and many others, along with injuries and wrongful detainments.<\/p>\n

Strike participants are pledging that they won\u2019t work, go to school, or shop, in a major act of disruptive solidarity to pressure the federal government pull back on the aggressive mass ICE raids and decrease funding for the agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many New York City restaurant, cafe, and bar owners are choosing to close in solidarity with the strike on Friday, including Williamsburg coffee shop Land to Sea<\/a>. Owner Emily Shum says she decided to shut down for the day because it\u2019s her part in making an effort for the greater good. \u201cWe believe we must disrupt \u2018business as usual\u2019 and local commerce in order to affect change and help bring attention to the violence and injustice brought on by ICE and our federal government,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Land to Sea. Land to Sea\/Official<\/p>\n

Bed-Stuy vegan cafe Toad Style<\/a> is taking its cues<\/a> from Minneapolis restaurant Modern Times (which is collecting donations<\/a> for food instead of ringing up checks \u2014 \u201cwe refuse to generate taxes\u201d \u2014 until ICE is gone from Twin Cities). It\u2019ll be closed for business service, but will offer free chili and grilled cheeses from noon to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

Chef Evan Hanczor is closing<\/a> his restaurant Little Egg<\/a> between Crown and Prospect Heights. \u201cThe financial consideration of closing a small independent restaurant is also significant,\u201d he says.\u201dWe\u2019ll lose money we can scarcely afford to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanczor knows that closing the restaurant for the day greatly affects the staff, especially the hourly workers. Some will use paid time off, \u201cbut we are also planning to offset some of the lost hours from the restaurants\u2019 (limited) funds\u201d to pay them, \u201cbut the impact is still there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Chef and author Eddie Huang tells Eater over on Substack<\/a> that he\u2019s not going to go to work at Lower East Side bar the Flower Shop<\/a>, where he\u2019s currently the executive chef.<\/p>\n

Clinton Hill coffee shop and wine bar Prima<\/a> owner Daryl Nuhn calls participating in the general strike<\/a> \u201csimultaneously a difficult and easy decision.\u201d She explains that January was a tough month: \u201cI spiraled for half a day, and then the privilege came into focus and made the decision easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just in New York City: Up in Catskill, 27 Cafe<\/a> is closing<\/a>. Owner Grace Brannigan tells Eater they\u2019re doing this \u201cbecause that is what has been asked of businesses by those who are central to the work of protecting the people targeted by ICE, to increase pressure, tension, and friction with the powers responsible for maintaining this apparatus, labor and its stoppage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brannigan doesn\u2019t take 27 Cafe\u2019s temporary closure lightly, but they believe it will cause an impact. \u201cClosing for a day is a drop in the bucket for tangible consequences to myself as a business owner, to the business itself, and to the community we serve,\u201d they say. \u201cAction collectivized can have outsized effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nuhn understands that not every small business can just shut down for the day, especially during the slow January period, coupled with the negative impact recent snowstorms have had on business. \u201cBeing a business owner and also being politically minded is weird and isolating, and you are often torn between what you feel is right and what you have to do for your business to survive (as well as keep your team employed),\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Whoopsie Daisy. Whoopsie Daisy\/Official<\/p>\n

Some NYC restaurants and businesses that aren\u2019t closing are helping efforts in other ways. Crown Heights wine bar Whoopsie Daisy<\/a> and wine shop Fiasco<\/a> will open up their spaces to people who want to \u201cgather if you need, to organize, and to resist,\u201d per the Instagram post, for free. People who do want to buy drinks and food are encouraged to use cash with a 10 percent discount. It\u2019ll also donate one dollar from everything sold to the Immigrant Defense Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Greenpoint restaurant Gator<\/a> is donating all drink sales<\/a> for the day to legal services nonprofit New York Immigrant Family Unity Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Greenpoint cookbook store and cafe Archestratus<\/a> is organizing a \u201cCrush ICE\u201d bake sale<\/a> with no sign-up sheets. \u201cAs cooks and bakers, our instincts are to nurture, feed, and protect,\u201d owner Paige Lipari tells Eater. \u201cWe have seen many times over at this shop that we are not alone, we are not helpless, and that when we come together, we are stronger and more effective. People have a tendency to write off bake sales as silly, and I would ask them to question why and how they were told that lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

People are encouraged to stop by Archestratus on Friday, January 30, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 31, before noon to drop off their baked goods. The sale runs from 2 to 6 p.m. on<\/a> Saturday, January 31. All funds will be donated to Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bed-Stuy\u2019s Frog Wine Bar<\/a> is donating \u201ca large amount of profit\u201d<\/a> from sales on Thursday, January 29, from 5 p.m. to midnight to the American Civil Liberties Union and Immigrant Defense Project. \u201cWe hate what this country is turning into and love it at the same time,\u201d co-owner Charles Gerbier tells Eater. \u201cWe defend what is at the essence of this nation: immigration.\u201d He and co-owner Alexandra McCown will \u201ckeep enough to leave the lights on and pay our employees,\u201d and the rest of the sales will be donated, he says.<\/p>\n

Eight Ridgewood restaurants, such as Salty Lunch Lady\u2019s Little Luncheonette<\/a> and Salvos<\/a>, are getting together<\/a> to donate a portion of each of their proceeds from Friday, January 30, through Sunday, February 1, to the Comunidad Primero<\/a> and Immigration Defense Project.<\/p>\n

During times of crisis and need, the restaurant, food, and beverage industry is often one that steps in to support localcommunities. \u201cIt\u2019s an evergreen frustration that small restaurants are often the ones acting most decisively in these situations, and making the largest sacrifices to do so,\u201d Hanczor says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the F&B industry, we\u2019re held up by immigrants, many of us being immigrants or children of immigrants ourselves, myself included,\u201d Shum says. \u201cThis fight is in our DNA, and it seemed much easier to participate than to not.\u201d<\/p>\n