In an era of political division, misinformation and secrecy, local small businesses located inside of the Nicollet mall explain how they have dealt with the ever-so changing environment.
Nicollet Mall has been Minneapolis’ civic “Main Street” for more than 100 years. Nicollet Mall is considered as the first transit “mall” in the country, allowing it to quickly become a national model of urban innovation for many other cities to follow. Through its history, it has constantly shifted, from first, horse-drawn wagons, to cars in front of Nicollet Avenue, to now emphasizing bus transit. Nicollet has been designed to be a more pedestrian-oriented retail thoroughfare.
Nicollet Mall houses a variety of local businesses including jewelry stores, shops that produce high-quality natural self-care products, to clothing stores. Recently, Nicollet Mall had been one of many to be affected by Operation Metro Surge. A massive and controversial campaign launched by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched in December 2025 that included thousands of ICE and Custom and Border Protection Officers (CBP), aiming to arrest undocumented noncitizens.
This operation permanently impacted the community. Physically, restaurants, hotels and employees were affected; financially, it would be millions of dollars. “It’s still a lot of damage done… I don’t think it even can always be 100% repaired but, I do know it can always be worked on,” states Shane Zahn, Director of Safety Initiatives at the MPLS Downtown Improvement District (DID).
Zahn has been a part of DID since its inception in 2009. As the Director of Safety Initiatives, Zahn helps build public and private collaboration efforts around safety strategies by communicating with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), business owners and contracted security teams. Zahn helps advise downtown properties, including the Nicollet, on ways they can contribute to a safer downtown. “Safety is everybody’s responsibility, including residents. Police departments can’t do this alone,” states Zahn.
Paige Silber, the owner of ‘Silber Jewelry’, a jewelry store located inside Nicollet Mall, agrees, stating, “Downtown has really been hurting. We need a lot of exposure, and we need a huge marketing plan to get us back.”
However, Silber believes that business owners aren’t getting enough help. She shares, “I hired my own private security. Reason being is that I was watching the protests, and they were not peaceful; they were scary, and it reminded me of George Floyd’s stuff.” Being in the jewelry business, Silber states that, “Jewelry stores were the first targeted people,” and was not going to “Put us in the situation where my employees feel uncomfortable, or I feel uncomfortable safety-wise, so I hired private security until things got better.”
‘ANA’S ALCHEMY’ owned by Ana Castillo Jimenez believes that there is room for improvement and that the city should revisit its budget for the future years and focus more on the well-being of the citizens. Castillo Jimenez is currently able to de-escalate situations herself, but can rely on organizations like DID, community ambassadors and community security if things were to ever get violent or physical.
Castillo Jimenez recently launched her business seven months ago. As a result of her mother’s cancer diagnosis, Castillo Jimenez had to find a way to support her mother. “She was cleaning houses at the time and that was physically demanding on her body”, states Castillo Jimenez. Creating soap was a way to support her mother while also allowing her to work with her.
“Through the help of the downtown council, I decided to quit my job, quit my career, and pursue this dream.”
Castillo Jimenez had found resources to help launch her business. The Latino Economic Development Group has been able to help her, like many other local businesses, after the recent ICE raids and the Minneapolis Downtown Council helped Castillo Jimenez negotiate a price for her lease. Castillo Jimenez had searched and found opportunities to help her grow, “If I stay open to possibilities, a lot of the time they are walking by and it’s a matter of saying yes.”
Clothing and alteration store owner, Linna, of ‘Fit and Sew’ has been in the Nicollet Mall for four months. Linna first worked in her cousin’s store at Albertville Premium Outlets, located in Albertville, Minnesota, where she decided she wanted to run her own business.
Currently, Linna faces the issue of shoplifting due to homelessness. “I can see, but they still do it.” Mall security is provided in Nicollet for the business, but Linna states that security isn’t there when they are needed. As a new business owner, Linna states, “I catch them in the camera, but I don’t know how to face them, I just let them go.” This has changed since the number of shoplifting cases has increased.
“I talked to them [Mall Security] once, but then nothing they can do because they are gone. So what can they do?”
Nicollet Mall used to be a bustling, vibrant pedestrian-focused commercial, retail and social hub. Since then, it has shifted because of the pandemic and recent protests, as a result reduced foot traffic and safety concerns. Nicollet Mall has been permanently changed.
