You Belong Here.
We Belong Here.
An 18-month (2025-2026) Report of transforming, defending, and believing in Lake Street
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Allison Sharkey
Executive Director, Lake Street Council
Dreaming Big »»»»»»»»»
Corridor Marketing and Vibrancy
Lake Street is one of Minneapolis's most culturally rich and diverse corridors — home to immigrant-owned businesses, vibrant public art, and communities that have shown extraordinary resilience. The Lake Street Council's corridor marketing and vibrancy programs exist to ensure that Lake Street is seen, celebrated, and thriving. By investing in marketing, placemaking, public art, and community activation, we work to bring customers to local businesses, deepen community pride, and shape a narrative about Lake Street that is both honest about its challenges and optimistic about its future.
The last 18 months brought monumental community benefit, lasting hardship, and inspiring resilience. The successes and transformations of Lake Street Lift felt threatened by Operation Metro Surge — but Lake Street's vibrancy endures. We continue to drive economic prosperity for the corridor by shaping Lake Street's image with relentless optimism, resilient realism, and a deep pride shared by its businesses, residents, and visitors.
This work resulted in the Lake Street Council reaching new audiences across Minnesota and beyond. Our Lake of 10,000 Lands marketing campaign generated nearly 11 million digital impressions across 105 zip codes and six states — and 25,000 square feet of new and updated murals by 26 artists transformed a 30-block stretch of East Lake Street into one of the largest concentrated public art corridors in the nation.
Our impact went beyond visibility: half of those who saw the Lake of 10,000 Lands marketing campaign visited Lake Street afterward, survey respondents’ negative feelings toward the corridor dropped by half, and 46 community events and six major festivals brought thousands of neighbors and visitors to the corridor.
Every visitor to the corridor puts dollars into our business community - our annual Loyalty Challenge holiday shopping campaign generated nearly $90,000 in economic activity across 85 businesses.
Then Operation Metro Surge arrived. Rather than go quiet, we pivoted — adapting our You Belong Here campaign to host events at Latino and East African-owned businesses that were experiencing dramatic decreases in sales due to temporary closures. For a few months, the world turned upside down, but our mission and goals were the same. Make sure Lake Street is seen and that our businesses are supported.
For a few months, the world turned upside down, but our mission and goals were the same.
Working to Succeed »»»»»»»»»
Business Support
Supporting businesses along the Lake Street corridor is the backbone of the Lake Street Council's work. It's why the organization started over 58 years ago and why it continues today. As the most diverse corridor in the Twin Cities, Lake Street is home to thousands of BIPOC and immigrant entrepreneurs — individuals who are starting and expanding businesses to support their families and communities. Our goal is to support their dreams by connecting them to vital resources, training, and opportunities. As advisors, troubleshooters, and bridge builders, we work to increase their economic potential while strengthening the fabric of Lake Street itself.
We have done this work in the best of times and in times of great challenge, hardship, and resilience. Despite the challenges that arrived over the winter, the last 18 months prior saw real, measurable progress - with amazing stories of success, like Hoyo Sambusa.
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Lake Street Lift boosted our everyday business support programs with additional funds for professional contracted support in accounting, legal clinics, food operations, and marketing. Similar to other areas of our work, our well-established business technical assistance program remained consistent while expanding its capacity. Across both Lift and our core programs, we served over 220 businesses through more than 3500 hours of support delivered by 30 vendors — helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams and strengthen their economic footing.
Those stories of growth and possibility were threatened by what came next
We have done this work in the best of times and in times of great challenge, hardship, and resilience.
Operation Metro Surge
When Operation Metro Surge began in December 2025, the economic devastation was immediate and severe. Business owners reported revenue falling 70 to 80 percent — not just because immigrant customers were too afraid to visit and employees stopped showing up for work, but because even non-immigrant customers stayed away to avoid unwanted encounters with federal agents.
The impacts were visible everywhere: at one Latino shopping center, just one of seven restaurants remained open by early January; at a predominantly East African-owned cultural mall, over 60 percent of the shops closed their doors. With nearly 3,000 ICE officers reported in Minneapolis, the terror inflicted on this community was significant, and its effects on Minneapolis and Lake Street in particular will be long-lasting.
The Lake Street Council did not step back — we leaned in and doubled down, shifting our resources and energy to meet businesses and the whole corridor where we were.
Since January 2026, we have:
Began hosting online multilingual Q&A sessions for businesses to provide information and resources.
Organized volunteers to supply legal fact sessions and resources to impacted businesses.
Connected mutual aid groups with local and cultural grocers for community food and aid.
Provided a sworn declaration documenting impacts for [blank].
Testified at special State Legislative committee hearings on the impacts on businesses
Urged city & county officials to allocate over $9 million in emergency business relief immediately
Spoke to local and national media outlets
Emergency outreach and support to over 150 businesses seeking relief funding
In addition, thanks to our own Stand With Lake Street and Show Your Support for Eat Street fundraisers, plus funding from the Minneapolis Foundation, we have, to date, awarded over $1M in grants to 322 businesses, with an average grant of just over 3,000. The need for this funding is much greater than what was available, but we know these funds have helped businesses keep their doors open.
Recovery, Real Estate & Redevelopment
Lake Street's recovery from the 2020 civil unrest has never been a straightforward path; it’s been a years-long process of navigating continuously shifting economic headwinds, persistent community safety challenges, unexpected inflationary pressures, labor shortages and a pernicious federal immigration enforcement action that cost businesses and workers hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and lost wages.
More than 400 businesses were damaged during the unrest, with over $250 million in collective damage to the corridor. Many were locally owned businesses already facing barriers to capital — immigrant entrepreneurs, low-income families, and BIPOC business owners who had invested everything into Lake Street. More than 70,000 donors from around the world contributed to the We Love Lake Street (WLLS) Fund, raising $12 million distributed to over 500 businesses — more than 80 percent of them immigrant or BIPOC-owned.
We knew recovery would not be possible without direct investment in redevelopment as well. Since 2020, $2.4 million has been provided through our WLLS. Its Acquisition and Predevelopment Fund - keep Lake Street property in local hands — supporting 19 property acquisitions, five new construction groundbreakings, and 14 grand openings since 2021, with 12 more projects in active planning today. The State of Minnesota's Main Street Economic Revitalization Program delivered an additional $9 million in reconstruction grants to Lake Street properties.
Lake Street Lift considered this redevelopment work - adding another critical layer: $ 1M in dedicated real estate consulting support to 20 projects through Platform CRE and 30 specialized vendors. This gave property owners and nonprofits access to professional feasibility analysis, architectural design, and capital planning, often for the first time. moving their projects to the next phase and leveraging significant public and private investment.
The work is not finished - properties are still in planning and need critical support. The impacts of Operation Metro Surge have added new urgency to an already long road. Most of our remaining vacant lots have either been reactivated as community gathering spots or are in the pre-planning stages for redevelopment. But the progress we’ve made since 2020 is real - Lake Street's physical landscape is being shaped by and for the communities that call it home, and the Lake Street Council will continue to make sure it stays that way.
Lake Street's physical landscape is being shaped by and for the communities that call it home.
Amplifying Voices »»»»»»»»»
Advocate For the Community
The Lake Street Council has always believed that the success and economic stability of the corridor depend on both what happens on the street and the decisions made in city halls and government offices. Advocacy is foundational to us — it is how we ensure that Lake Street's needs are heard, that public investment supports community priorities, and that resources reach the entrepreneurs and families who need them most.
Over the past 18 months, that work has taken on new urgency. From securing the extension of Lake Street Lift funds to advocating for emergency relief for businesses devastated by Operation Metro Surge, we have been working — bringing partners together, mobilizing our community, and fighting to get resources where they belong.
A key component of this work was developing a business survey and documenting an average business loss of $57,000 during Operation Metro Surge, data we used to make a clear case for relief funding at the State Legislature. Multiple subsequent surveys have proven that revenue losses exceeded $444 million in the city of Minneapolis alone. In addition, we:
Secured extension of Lift fund deadline during 2025 legislative session, adding an extra year to exhaust all funds.
Advocated for a $7 million emergency “Small Business Resiliency Fund” package from the City of Minneapolis in February 2026, to stabilize businesses impacted by federal immigration enforcement actions. These funds were approved and have since been allocated toward.
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Participated in a large community development-focused coalition that urged state legislators to pass a $100 million allocation for emergency relief for small businesses and cultural malls across the state.
Connected Hennepin County Commissioners, county economic recovery staff, and business leaders — helping to secure a $2 million county-wide relief package.
Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Aenean eu mollis felis. Pellentesque eget diam tempus, commodo eros in, lobortis elit. Sed nisl ex, consectetur sed sapien ut, ultricies rutrum velit. Nulla malesuada egestas facilisis. Aliquam mattis ornare est, non eleifend tellus mollis in. Quisque vel maximus nulla. Donec eget dui vel turpis scelerisque egestas sed a neque.
The economic stability of the corridor depend on what happens on the street and the decisions made in government offices.
Financial Support
The Lake Street Council's work is made possible through the generous support of individuals, businesses, partner organizations, government entities, and foundations. Your contributions directly fund:
Business development services
Public art initiatives
Marketing campaigns
Community events
Advocacy efforts
Read our State of Financial Position and State of Activities here.
Thank you to the following funders for supporting our work last year.
Ameriprise Financial
Bush Foundation
Carolyn Foundation
CenterPoint Energy
City of Minneapolis
Graves Foundation
Hennepin County
Huntington Bank Foundation
Marbrook Foundation
McKnight Foundation
Metro Regional Arts Council (MRAC)
Minneapolis Foundation
State of Minnesota DEED
Minnesota State Arts Board
Old National Bank Foundation
Opus Foundation
Otto Bremer Trust
Target Foundation
Twin Cities LISC
US Bank Foundation
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo Foundation