Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Many of D.C.’s most revered dining establishments are closing their doors for the “Day Without Immigrants” strike on Thursday, with others offering limited service in support of their staff.

At least 680 undocumented immigrants were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement nationwide during the first full week of February. In addition to information released by ICE, immigration activists in Northern Virginia told The Washington Post they observed “raids of unusual intensity.”

The idea of “Day Without Immigrants” is to show how reliant the U.S. is on immigrant labor, and calls for people not to attend work, open up businesses, shop, eat out, buy gas, attend class, or send children to school.

A march will begin at noon at Mount Pleasant offices of Many Languages One Voice (3166 Mt Pleasant St NW) and head towards the White House. Earlier, starting at 10 a.m., the office is opening its doors to share food, language, and provide information on immigrants’ rights.

The strike isn’t limited to the District. Philadelphia will see similar strikes. “We wonder how teachers will feel when in some classrooms most of their students will be gone, or how people who frequent our bodegas or corner stores will feel when they are closed,” Miguel Andrade, of the South Philadelphia immigrant support group Juntos, said in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer. On Monday, Milwaukee saw a “Day Without Latinos” protest.

These are the local restaurants and food services that will be closed on Thursday:

  • 2Amy’s and Etto: These pizzerias, which share an owner, will be closed on Thursday “In observance of Un día sin Immigrantes,” per Facebook.
  • All Purpose: The Shaw pizzeria tweeted it will be “closed for lunch tomorrow 2/16 in solidarity with staff attending the #DayWithoutImmigrants protest. Open for dinner at 5:30.”

  • Brookland’s Finest: The restaurant tweeted it’ll be closed “in support of our staff who’ll participate in #ADayWithoutImmigrants protest”

  • Bub and Pops: The Dupont sandwich shop will be closed.
  • Busboys and Poets: All locations will be closed. “Our founder @andyshallal is an immigrant in solidarity #ADayWithoutImmigrants,” the restaurant tweeted. “Immigrants make America great!”

  • Clare and Don’s: “We rely on immigrants in order to maintain the consistency and quality we have built our reputation on. We will be closed all day tomorrow Thursday, February 16th,” said the Falls Church fish shack in a Facebook post.
  • Daikaya: The ramen shop and izakaya will be closed for both lunch and dinner.
  • Hank’s: All three locations of Hank’s Oyster Bar and Hank’s Pasta Bar are closed on Thursday. “We support our staff and stand in solidarity with them for the Day Without Immigrants. They are the ones who work hard to give our guests the best experience possible. From back of the house line cooks to front of the house hosts and servers, without them we would not exist,” JL Restaurant Group said in a statement.
  • Himitsu: “Our entire kitchen staff would not be here if their parents and grandparents didn’t immigrate to America. The dining industry would not exist without immigrants. Period,” Carlie Steiner, the beverage director and co-owner of the new Petworth Japanese restaurant, said in a statement.

  • Jaleo, Oyamel, and Zaytina: D.C. restauranteur and activist José Andrestweeted that his DMV-based restaurants Zaytina, Oyamel, and all three locations of Jaleo will be closed for the day “in support of our people.”

  • Jetties: Foxhall, Macomb, Bethesda, Penn Quarter, and Chevy Chase locations closed.

  • Le Caprice: “As a business owned and almost entirely staffed by immigrants, we polled the staff, and they collectively decided to join the strike tomorrow,” says a statement from the Columbia Heights bakery.

  • Mindful Restaurants Group: , Acqua al 2, Harold Black, Denson Liquor Bar, Ghibellina, Sotto, Ari’s Diner, La Puerta Verde, and Dock FC will all be closed.

  • Peacock Cafe: Maziar Farivar, the chef and restauranteur at the Georgetown spot, tweeted it “will be closed” and thanked Andres for his “leadership and tireless efforts in so many fronts.”

  • Pho102: The NoVa pho joint posted that it will be closed to “show solidarity with our staff and customers … Our business could not survive without immigrants.”

  • Pizza Paradiso: Georgetown and Old Town locations both closed on Thursday.

  • Red Hen: The Bloomingdale restaurant is closed for dinner “in solidarity with our team members attending #DayWithoutImmigrants protests,” via Twitter.

  • Rappahannock Oyster Bar: The Union Market eatery said in a statement that “We are part of an industry that exists to provide a welcoming atmosphere and genuine hospitality – an industry that is also filled with talented and devoted immigrants without whom we could not operate on a daily basis. They are the backbone of our businesses, and our beloved nation.Tomorrow, February 16, Rappahannock Oyster Bar will join with restaurants across the country and close for the day to stand in solidarity with our indispensable staff. We all must stand together and fight for what is right, tomorrow and every day.

  • Surfside Taco: Glover Park location closed, Dupont location closed from 3 a.m. through 11 p.m.

  • sweetgreen: All 18 DMV locations will be closed. “Without the hard work and grit of our team, our stores do not run, and that means we can’t make good on our promise to you, our guest. Our team members are the face of the brand, from the front lines to our kitchen—they’re the backbone of this company and what makes sweetgreen special,” the salad shop posted. A spokesperson adds that all employees will be paid for the day.

  • Ted’s Bulletin: The 14th Street location has a sign stating it will be closed Thursday “due to the majority of our staff participating in A Day Without Immigrants.”.

  • Thip Khao and Bangkok Golden: “We’re one big family at Thip Khao & Bangkok Golden, in solidarity w/ our staff & friends, we’ll be closed tomorrow,” says a Thip Khao tweet.

  • Toki Underground: The Atlas District noodle shop will be closed all day “in solidarity with our staff,” per Facebook.

  • Toli Moli: “There would be no Toli Moli without immigrants. Both Chef JoJo and our partner, Eric Wang, are immigrants. The majority of our staff are either immigrants or first generation Americans. We are in the business of sweetening snack time, and there is nothing sweeter than a legacy that honors our diverse families and ancestors,” said co-founder Simon Jacobson in a statement.

These establishments and services are either curtailing their service with the expectation that employees will be striking or making donations to immigrant causes on Thursday:

  • Ambar: Both the Capitol Hill and Clarendon locations will be donating all profits from Thursday’s sales to the ACLU, owner Ivan Iricanin says.

  • ANXO: The Bloomingdale cidery will have a limited bar menu and will donate 10 percent of the proceeds to Ayuda.

  • Boundary Stone: Offering a limited menu because the owners are manning the grill, according to a tweet from the Bloomingdale restaurant.

  • Cotton & Reed: The bar is donating 10 percent of its sales to Ayuda, and offering free shots at 8 and 11 p.m. to strike supporters.

  • El Camino: In a statement, the owners of the Bloomingdale restaurant said, “We stand behind our staff & colleagues who chose to exercise their right to protest recent actions taken by the administration regarding US immigration policies during A Day Without Immigrants. Our kitchen will be closed on Thursday, but the bar is open with some limited snacks (chips, salsa, guacamole, and a cold salad based on a family recipe from our chef who will be participating in the protest with his crew). Patrons are welcome to bring their own food, as well. The monthly neighborhood Velvet Thursday late night LGBT happy hour will go on as planned starting at 9 p.m.”

  • Espita Mezcaleria: The kitchen will be closed, so there will be no lunch or dinner service. The bar will be open, sans food, for regular hours on Thursday evening.

  • Meridian Pint, Brookland Pint, and Smoke & Barrel: Kitchens will be closed, but bars will remain open if people want to bring their own food. “As a Latino business owner I stand in solidarity with all of my immigrant staff,” posted owner John Andrade. Therefore, we will close our kitchen this Thursday in support of our immigrant staff’s desire and right to protest the evolving state of immigration policies in our country.”

  • Room 11: The kitchen will be closed but the bar will stay open with a portion of sales going to Ayuda.

  • Timber Pizza: Donating 10 percent of sales to Ayuda.

    • Even more restaurant owners have said they’ll support employees who plan to protest.

    The advent of the Trump administration has inspired a number of planned strikes, including a Day Without Women and a general strike.

    This post will be updated.

    Filed Under: day without immigrants, ICE, immigration, restaurant, restaurants, strike,