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You Belong Here.

We Belong Here.

Transforming, defending, and believing in Lake Street: An 18 Month Report

Dear Friends, Partners, and Supporters of Lake Street,

I have spent more than a decade as Executive Director of the Lake Street Council, and in that time I have watched this corridor face extraordinary challenges — a global pandemic, the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, years of construction, and the long, hard work of rebuilding that followed. Through all of it, I have been proud of what we built together, and proud of the resilience of the businesses, families, and communities that make Lake Street what it is.

This report covers 18 months that began with some of the most transformative work our organization has ever done — and ended with one of the most serious threats our community has ever faced.

The Lake Street Council has been a champion for this corridor since the late 1960s. Our work is to foster economic vitality, amplify Lake Street's vibrancy, and make sure that the people who built this street — and who depend on it — are seen, supported, and have a seat at the table. Our staff of 13 does this work in English, Somali, and Spanish because we believe that a thriving Lake Street is a place of joy and hope.

The past 18 months tested that belief — and confirmed it.

In late 2024, we launched Lake Street Lift, an $8 million state investment that transformed the corridor in ways still visible today. Thirty new murals. Vacant lots turned into community gathering spaces. Hundreds of entrepreneurs receiving professional support — many for the first time. Tens of thousands of people coming out to events and festivals that celebrated the creativity and culture that define this place. It was one of the most ambitious corridor investments in our history, and it was working.

Then, in late November 2025, the federal government’s Operation Metro Surge arrived. What I witnessed — and what our business owners reported to me directly — was devastating. Revenues fell quickly and sharply. Employees stopped coming to work. Family members, friends, and neighbors were harassed and taken by law enforcement. Customers stayed away. Business owners who had survived the pandemic and rebuilt after 2020 told me they did not know if they would survive this.

We did not step back. Friends and neighbors came together, raising over $1 million that we distributed in emergency grants to businesses. We organized events to bring in customers; held multilingual online sessions, helped owners navigate applications, testified before legislative committees, and made the case for millions in emergency relief. We showed up — because that is what we do.

Lake Street is still here, still fighting, still full of the creativity and resilience and joy that have always defined it. The murals are on the walls. The businesses are open. The community is still standing.

This report is a record of that work — and a promise that the Lake Street Council will not stop.

With gratitude and determination,

Allison Sharkey
Executive Director, Lake Street Council

Lake Street Lift

In 2023, the State of Minnesota appropriated $8 million to the City of Minneapolis to support the economic health and vitality of the Lake Street Corridor. The Graves Foundation was selected to oversee this funding and partnered with the Lake Street Council to lead the work on the ground. Our goal was to create a more vibrant, growing Lake Street — uplifting businesses and celebrating the diverse communities that call this place home.

The work began in late 2024 and continued until May 2026, transforming the corridor in ways that are still visible today. None of it would have been possible without the hundreds of contractors, event organizers, artists, public officials, and community stakeholders who believed in what Lake Street could become.

While Lake Street Lift should be celebrated as a success, it is not an ending — it is one part of the path toward the long-term economic recovery and stability of Lake Street.

Working together, we accomplished a lot; these are a few highlights: 

  • Thirty new murals by 26 artists turned a 30-block stretch of East Lake Street into one of the largest concentrated public art projects in the nation. The imagery in these murals reflects the diversity of our corridor and the people who call it home. 

  • Vacant lots that would have otherwise been fenced became skating rinks, community plazas, artist markets, and much more.

  • Tens of thousands of neighbors and visitors attended 46 community events and six major festivals.

  • Hundreds of entrepreneurs — most of them immigrant and BIPOC-owned businesses — received direct advising, marketing support, and real estate consulting, many for the first time.

  • A new statewide marketing campaign, “The Lake of 10,000 Lands,” introduced Lake Street to a new audience across Minnesota.

Lake Street Lift was one of the most ambitious corridor investments in our history, and it was working.

When Operation Metro Surge arrived a few months later, the investment Lake Street Lift made in this corridor was not simply a backdrop — it was a buffer. Businesses that had received financial management support were better positioned to weather a sudden collapse in revenue. Entrepreneurs who had worked with marketing advisors had stronger customer relationships and digital presences to draw on when foot traffic disappeared. The murals and events that had drawn new visitors to the corridor had built a broader base of customers who knew and cared about Lake Street.

Lake Street Lift was pivotal for helping the corridor endure one of our most difficult challenges - by establishing deeper roots, more resources, and community members who cared.

Operation Metro Surge

When Operation Metro Surge began in December 2025, the economic devastation was immediate and severe. Business owners reported revenue falling 30% to 50% from previous years — 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 sheets 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 an ACLU lawsuit.

  • 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

  • Organized You Belong Here Cash Mobs to bring customers to affected businesses

  • 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.

“In a time of uncertainty, this assistance not only represented immediate financial relief but also provided me with the stability necessary to focus on my goals and on the well-being of those around me. Having the backing of an organization committed to its community makes a truly positive difference in the lives of those of us who receive this boost.”

Novedades Krystal, 417 E Lake St

Amplifying Voices

Advocating 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. 

These two moments — the optimism of Lake Street Lift and the devastation of Operation Metro Surge — capture something essential about the work of the Lake Street Council. We build when we can, take opportunities when they are available - and defend what we have built when we must. Advocacy made both possible. Without years of relationship-building with city, county, and state leaders, there would have been no $8 million Lift appropriation, no fund deadline extension, no emergency resiliency package, no county relief. 

In these two moments, the Lake Street Council was at the table, making the case that this corridor and the people who call it home deserve to be seen, supported, and given every chance to thrive.

The economic stability of the corridor depend on what happens on the street and the decisions made in government offices.

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, 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 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.

We drive economic prosperity by shaping Lake Street's image with relentless optimism, resilient realism, and a shared pride. 

  • Mercado Central

    Mercado Central has been a Lake Street anchor for decades, and over the past 18 months, the Lake Street Council has worked to ensure that continues. Through Lake Street Lift, we recognized the importance of supporting the Mercado's aging building — addressing everything from HVAC systems to stormwater compliance. Working with iconic local designer Luis Fitch and UNO Branding, Mercado Central received marketing and branding support to tell its story to new audiences. These collaborations between local businesses like UNO Branding establish deeper roots in our community — and build relationships that help each other thrive.

    When Operation Metro Surge hit, those relationships proved essential. We worked directly with Mercado Central leadership to broker a meeting with Hennepin County Commissioner Conley. The meeting made the case for emergency relief, and later we organized a cash mob to bring customers back through the door. 

    None of it would have happened without the years of trust built through showing up consistently, doing the work, and proving that the Lake Street Council is a partner — not just a program. That is what advocacy looks like when it is rooted in trusted relationships.

  • Ingebretsens's

    Ingebretsen's has been on Lake Street for over 100 years — a Norwegian marketplace that has seen the corridor through everything. As a long-time partner of the Lake Street Council, we were thrilled to support their new murals by local artists that now cover the building's exterior through Lake Street Lift - along with a Façade Improvement Grant for painting, tuckpointing, and exterior repairs. And through Lift's safety funding, a T.O.U.C.H. Outreach team provided a daily presence outside the business during the summer. As owner Anna Bloomstrand put it: "We really benefit from a small team from T.O.U.C.H. Outreach during the day — thanks to Lake Street Lift funds."

  • Hamdi Restaurant

    When Operation Metro Surge arrived in December 2025, Hamdi Restaurant — a woman-owned East African business on Lake Street — felt it immediately. Sales dropped sharply through the winter months. In April 2026, LSC stepped in: helping the owner retrieve financial documentation, build a short-term budget, and apply for emergency relief funding through the Minneapolis Foundation's ERF program. That same spring, Hamdi was featured in the You Belong Here Cash Mobs and served as a sticker distribution site for LSC's winter marketing campaign — because even in the hardest moments, Lake Street keeps showing up.

  • Medina Mall

    When Madina Mall owner Mahamed Cali came to the Lake Street Council with questions about his building, we immediately identified our Building Improvement Grant Program as essential for funding for his window and glass repairs. Madina Mall was awarded a Façade Improvement Grant for window, door, and glass repair. Madina Mall and its businesses were also featured in the You Belong Here campaign, putting the East African shopping hub in front of new audiences at exactly the moment it needed them most.

  • Divison of Indian Work

    The Division of Indian Work has called Lake Street home for decades — and through Lake Street Lift, they are building what comes next. We were able to support Division of Indian Works with real estate consulting support covered boundary surveys, schematic design, title work, facilities assessments, and contractor RFQ processes, all laying the groundwork for a new facility on land adjacent to their existing building.

    In additional a mural by local artist Thomasina TopBear and the ribbon-cutting celebration became a tribute not just to the art, but to everything being built beside it.

  • COPAL

    In May 2025, a vacant lot at 2905 E Lake Street got a fresh start — cleaned up and beautified through Lake Street Lift as the future home of COPAL, Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina. The very next month, COPAL filled that same lot with Festival de Sol, an Earth Day and environmental justice celebration that drew 1,000 people for music, food, cultural performances, and community.

    Behind the scenes, Lift's real estate team was doing the harder work — providing consulting services covering capital campaign planning, geotechnical analysis, financing applications, and structural work to lay the foundation for a permanent 15,000 square foot building with a coffee shop, bookstore, mini-soccer field, and community gathering space. This new transformative community space is the future of Lake Street, and we have been immensely proud to support its transformation over the past 18 months.

Striving to Succeed

Business Navigation and 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 in early 2026, the last 18 months saw real, measurable progress — with stories of success like Hoyo Sambusa, which used Lake Street Lift support to open their brand new production facility, build a brand from the ground up, and celebrate a grand opening at Midtown Global Market. It is exactly the kind of story this work is meant to create.

Lake Street Lift boosted our everyday business support programs with additional funds for professional contracted support in accounting, legal clinics, food operations, and marketing. We also continued building out a broader system of support: through the Small Business Equitable Energy Decarbonization Initiative (SBEEDi), we expanded a growing coalition of community-based organizations and CDFIs — adding the Neighborhood Development Center, West Broadway Business and Area Coalition, and the Latino Economic Development Center as partners in 2025 — ensuring that diverse small businesses have access to cost savings through energy efficiency and modernization programs. 

Across both Lift and our core programs, we served over 220 businesses through more than 3,500 hours of support delivered by 30 vendors — helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams and strengthen their economic footing for their families.

Those stories of growth and possibility were threatened by what came next. When Operation Metro Surge arrived, our business engagement team pivoted immediately. Staff who had been delivering technical assistance and marketing support shifted their focus to emergency response — helping business owners navigate grant applications, connecting them to relief resources, and linking businesses with mutual aid groups to ensure that community members could access food and necessities during the crisis. 

The work looked different, but the people doing it — and the relationships that made it possible — were the same ones built through years of showing up on Lake Street every day.

Our goal is to support a business’s dreams by connecting them to vital resources, training, and opportunities.

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 destructive federal immigration enforcement action that cost businesses and their families 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 our We Love Lake Street (WLLS) Fund, raising $12 million, which was immediately 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 Acquisition and Predevelopment Fund - keeping 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 continued 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. Their projects started moving to the next phase by leveraging significant public and private investment. Projects like COPAL’s 15,000 sq ft community center and the recently opened Opportunity Crossing are paving the way for a new Lake Street. 

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. 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.

  • We Celebrated

    • The You Belong Here campaign reached well beyond the corridor — 215,000+ influencer views, 165,743 Facebook views, 75,722 Instagram reach, and 3 earned media placements

    • Lake Street Winter campaign ran as a pre-trailer ad at AMC Rosedale, AMC Southdale, and Landmark's Lagoon Cinema, generating an estimated 54,144 impressions over 4–6 weeks.

    • Our digital and email reach extended across the region — 1.8M+ accounts reached through organic social media and 344,126 email newsletter opens across 18 newsletters and 4 outlets.

    • Arts programming activated the corridor year-round — the second annual Mural Day and monthly Art Drop scavenger hunt series drew hundreds of participants to local businesses, while 6 vacant lots and 20+ utility boxes were transformed through Lift's placemaking investments.

  • We Navigated

    • 40+ businesses received 1:1 Lift business advising — 1,535+ hours via 17 vendors, covering accounting, legal clinics, HR, food operations, and financial management.

    • 59 businesses received Lift marketing and branding support — 2,092 hours via 13 local contractors, covering website development, social media, branding, and photo/video.

    • 68 businesses received additional business advising — 229 hours across Lake Street and Uptown, covering building improvements, marketing, financial advising, and emergency relief applications.

    • 25 workshops hosted in 2025 in Spanish, Somali, and English — more than 90% of entrepreneurs supported identified as BIPOC and/or immigrants.

    • 15 Façade Improvement Grants awarded — $88,048 in approved funding toward $123,961 in total project costs, leveraging $77,899 in private investment.

  • We Advocated

    • 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 from the City of Minneapolis in February 2026 to stabilize businesses impacted by federal immigration enforcement. These funds were approved and allocated for direct financial relief, business support & technical assistance, cultural economy & marketing, community activation & events.

    • 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.

  • Community Safety

    Supporting Lake Street safety and livability is a core component of developing a shared sense of pride between businesses, residents, and visitors. The Lake Street Council was given the unique opportunity to hire a temporary full-time Community Safety Navigator with funding from the City of Minneapolis. This coincided with the opening of a new Lake Street Safety Center in 2024. This work led to outcomes previously not possible:

    • Large-scale graffiti removal throughout the corridor - at 33 businesses 

    • Invested over $250,000 in Lake Street Lift funding directly back into Lake Street safety and livability partners that provide on-the-ground support to the corridor, including case management for unhoused individuals. 

    • Worked with 12 businesses to address ongoing vandalism and property damage

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

Lake Street thrives when we invest in it. Become a part of Lake Street's revival.

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