The Minneapolis small business community, particularly its restaurants, is feeling the effects of Operation Metro Surge. While immigrant-owned businesses along Lake Street appear to be facing the sharpest downturn, with the Lake Street Council estimating that 50% of the 1,652 businesses have closed in the last two months, restaurants and small businesses across the city are also being impacted.
This conversation with French Meadow Bakery owner Marlene Leiva highlights how precarious the moment has become, not only for business owners but for the entire network that depends on them, including delivery drivers, farmers, and other small vendors.
Although some relief efforts are underway, such as the GoFundMe for Mercado Central, and support from the Minneapolis Foundation and the ConnectUp! Institute, they are unlikely to be sufficient on their own. Without a meaningful economic recovery plan from the city and state, the damage now unfolding risks deepening into a broader economic crisis.
The Community Call Fundraiser
A community response supporting local businesses and the people who work for them
SATURDAY, FEB 7, 2026 — 2:00 - 6:00 PM; Mayor Jacob Frey to attend @ 2:30
At French Meadow’s Nord Social Hall, 2610 Lyndale Avenue S
Raffle, Silent Auction, DJ, Food
Suggested Donation $20+ or pay what you can
Interview Summary
Marlene Leiva became the owner of French Meadow Bakery in September 2025, stepping into restaurant ownership just as Minneapolis entered another period of upheaval. A longtime resident who built her career in real estate, Leiva was drawn to the restaurant business by a belief in food as a way to build community and bring people together. But only a few months into ownership, she finds herself navigating challenges she never anticipated, ones that go far beyond the already thin margins of the restaurant industry.
Leiva says the increased ICE presence in the city has had an immediate and severe impact on her business. Staffing has become unpredictable, with some employees, citizens included, afraid to travel to work. Vendors are affected as well, as reduced sales force smaller orders throughout the supply chain. On top of that, cancellations of private events have surged, often from out-of-state customers who believe Minneapolis is unsafe based on news coverage. Since she took over, Leiva estimates foot traffic at French Meadow has dropped by roughly 40 percent, a decline that makes day-to-day operations increasingly unsustainable.
Despite the strain, Leiva continues to push forward, supporting a payroll of roughly 75 employees and drawing on income from her other businesses to keep the restaurant afloat. She worries, however, that if conditions persist for months, many small restaurants won’t survive. Leiva is frustrated by the lack of visible city support for businesses like hers and says words alone won’t pay vendors or employees. Still, she remains committed to Minneapolis, organizing a fundraiser for struggling small businesses and insisting the city is safe and worth supporting. For her, keeping French Meadow’s doors open is about more than one restaurant—it is about preserving a sense of normalcy, dignity, and community in a city she calls home.
