Dozens of Boulder businesses closed or donated proceeds on Friday to immigrant rights groups, participating in a nationwide economic shutdown to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This list is not comprehensive. Boulder Reporting Lab compiled the following examples based on public announcements from businesses and community members.
In their announcements, businesses cited solidarity with Minneapolis, where more than 3,000 immigration agents are currently deployed and two protesters have been killed by ICE agents. Others stayed open and donated a portion of proceeds to organizations such as Casa de Paz, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, the Colorado Rapid Response Network and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, citing the importance of supporting immigrant and constitutional rights.
“We want to honor Renee Good and Alex Pretti and all the lesser-known individuals who have been victims of ICE’s state-sponsored violence and the oppressive actions of this administration,” January Coffee wrote in their post about Friday’s closure.
Closed:
- The Campus Climbing and Training
- Empower You Therapy Services
- January Coffee closed, but offered coffee outside while demonstrating against ICE.
- Junkyard Social Club closed, then reopened their doors again at 4 p.m. for a protest sign-making workshop.
- Trident Cafe closed, but offered free tea and coffee and accepted donations for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Casa de Paz.
Donated a portion of their proceeds:
- Avanti Boulder donated 15% of bar sales to Colorado Rapid Response Network.
- Beleza Coffee Bar donated 15% of all sales on Friday to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
- Big Red F restaurants, including the Velvet Elk Lounge and West End Tavern, committed to making contributions to Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
- Blackbelly donated a portion of sales to the Colorado Rapid Response Network.
- Boulder Bookstore donated 20% of revenue to Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Casa de Paz. Tables and seating remained open in the Upper North Room for discussion and advocacy.
- Boulder Sport Recycler donated 20% of sales to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
- Boxcar Coffee donated all profits to Casa de Paz.
- Frasca donated 2% of sales from all its restaurants on the Front Range to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
- Grandmaster Games donated a dollar from every sale to Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
- Hapa Sushi donated 10% of sales to Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
- Illegal Petes donated 10% of sales to Colorado Rapid Response Network.
- Jungle and Siren bars donated 20% of their Friday proceeds, half to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network and half to frontline organizers in Minnesota. They also offered a free cocktail on Saturday to anyone who brought a protest sign to Jungle or Siren.
- Lindsay’s Deli offered free coffee for protestors and donated a portion of sales to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
- Ozo Coffee donated 15% of all Nicaragua La Peña sales and 10% of all in-store sales to Casa de Paz.
- Performance & Recovery Labs/ PR Labs donated 25% of their revenues to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
- Pica’s Taqueria donated a portion of sales to the Immigrant Defense Fund.
- Suti and Co. donated 20% to Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
- Jeannot’s Patisserie & Bistro (Lafayette) donated a portion of sales to the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County.
- Composition (Longmont) donated the day’s profits to ACLU of Colorado.
- Rosalee’s Pizza (Longmont) donated 2% of sales to Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.