Business along E. Lake St. hit hard by protestors

Posted
Midday along E. Lake St., Thursday, May 28, 2020. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

From Daniel Kennedy at Kennedy and Cain Law (3400 E. Lake St.):

I took a walk this morning after verifying that my building is OK.  Almost all the damage is west of 34th Avenue, starting with broken glass at NAPA, Soderberg’s, TCF, Walgreen’s, US Bank, the library, Cash ’n Pawn, Hamoudi Sabri’s building, the Coliseum, Odd Fellows, and Minnehaha Liquor.  All bus shelters had been smashed.
 
  Auto Zone and Wendy’s had been completely burned.  Firefighters were still spraying 7 Sigma, the residential building under construction in front of Aldi’s, and the mixed use building between VOA and Holy Trinity Apartments.  But those three looked irreparable, unless the building by Aldi’s concrete structure can be salvaged.
 
The row of buildings with Target was heavily damaged.  Target had been looted.  MPR said this morning that there were flames on the roof of the Target building, and when I walked by there was water pouring out of the charter school and dollar store.  All glass from Target to Planet Fitness was broken.
 
 
Even at 10:30 am, people were still looting G&M Tobacco and Sally’s Beauty Products in the Minnehaha Commons residential building next to Cub.
 
 
Geek Love was boarding windows, as was Urban Growler.  I don’t know if that was due to broken glass or as a precaution in case of future violence.  The post office had already been boarded.
 
 
I did not see any damage at Northern Sun, Migizi, or Wilson Law.  Gandhi Mahal looked OK, but the owner reported two broken windows.  Many businesses bore signs saying “Black Owned” or “Minority Owned.”  It may have helped some businesses, but others with signs suffered damage.
 
 
There was lots of graffiti on walls and windows.
 
 
Looking out my window today, I’ve seen three businesses with intact windows boarding up as a precaution.  I just have too many windows to make that feasible.  I’ll just have to hope there is no more violence on Lake Street.

View full gallery on Facebook by clicking here. From the Longfellow Business Association: We have been hearing from many of you in our business community today after the murder of George Floyd, protests, rioting and the complete devastation of Lake Street, especially at Lake and Minnehaha. We are working with partners to develop a coordinated response for advocacy, leadership and safety. We want your input. Please reach out and tell us what you are feeling, seeing, hearing and how the LBA can support you. We will need you all to help us as we move forward. Right now, here are a few resources and ways to gather support: Boarding Windows: Mortenson Family Foundation is donating plywood and some labor for boarding windows. If you have small businesses that would have trouble taking care of boarding themselves and need help, give their info to ZoeAna zmartinez@lakestreetcouncil.org. Financial Support: Lake Street Council has set up a fundraising platform and all donations will go to go to small businesses that have experienced vandalism. Please share. https://www.welovelakestreet.com/ Thank you all and please reach out to Kim with any specific ideas, needs and concerns: 612.298.4699 or kim@longfellowbusinessassociation.org

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