Welcome to Deep Dish, a weekly roundup of food and entertainment news. Last time we discussed Prue Leith’s exit from Bake Off.
Food is political. It’s been said so often that it feels trite, nevertheless it’s perhaps truer now than ever. Take a look at Minnesota, where almost 100 food shelves in the state have signed an open letter calling for an end to the surge in federal immigration agents in the state. Or look at the network of food-based mutual aid that’s sprung up across the state. Or the many restaurants refusing to serve ICE agents.
Today, restaurants across the country are participating in a widespread general strike in an effort to protest ICE activity. In this week’s Deep Dish, we speak to two restaurant owners on why they’ve chosen to close down for the day, and what message they’re hoping to send by striking. Also this week: Your favorite food influencer may have tried to post about ICE, only to find themselves censored, tariffs on wine are causing problems, and, among all of this, Noma begins its residency in LA—someone get me something fermented, STAT. —Sam Stone, staff writer
Restaurants Strike Across the Country Against ICE
Closing unexpectedly on a day of service is no small burden on a restaurant, where bottom lines rely heavily on regular hours and full tables. Many food establishments around the country nonetheless deemed the sacrifice worthwhile today, joining a nationwide strike against ICE’s mass deportations and violence against protesters in Minneapolis and across the country.
Evan Hanczor, chef-owner of Little Egg in Brooklyn, NY, grappled this week with how best to support the effort, weighing the impact on their staff and finances. “But earlier this week a couple of our servers asked if we’d be closing on Friday and offered their willingness to forego their shifts in solidarity with the strike,” he wrote to Bon Appétit, prompting a team-wide discussion and ultimate consensus to close in solidarity with the movement. He’s been heartened to see the chain reaction of other restaurants following suit. “It’s not a choice every small business can make, but I think seeing it happen to the degree it has has led more folks to act and speak publicly in some way,” he said. “We all need permission structures and community support to allow us to find our way toward action and I think we’re seeing folks find that in the actions of others here.”
Over on the opposite coast in Los Angeles, local café Sqirl similarly closed in solidarity with their community, one of the first impacted by ICE activity, they wrote in a statement to Bon Appétit. “The raids that followed caused real harm to our staff, our neighbors, and the broader restaurant community,” they said. “When that happened, people across the country showed up in solidarity and spoke out in support, and it meant a lot to us as Angelenos.”
“At its core, our industry is about bringing families and communities together, not ripping them apart,” Sqirl wrote in their note. “We’re participating in this collective action to make that point crystal clear, and we are proud to stand alongside the workers, families, and communities who have made the same decision to honor those principles.
For his part, Hanczor hopes the collective action, and Little Egg’s own participation in it, “will be received as a small jolt of realization and encouragement for our community and customers,” he says. “When we were considering closing, I thought, This national strike call is cool, I wish it could really reach the level it needs to to work. And then I had the thought, Oh, I (and the restaurant) [are] decisive in that happening, each of us are.”
