Here’s a list of L.A. restaurants supporting Friday’s general strike with donations
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After a tumultuous month of continued national immigration raids and the ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, nationwide protests are set to occur today amid calls for a general strike. Small businesses across the L.A. area announced Friday closures in observation of the strike, while others who voiced support said the decision to close is impossible — especially for independent restaurants, which suffered an outsized string of hardships through 2025, causing a growing number of permanent closures.
Many operators who say they are unable to close are donating a portion or all profits from Friday’s business to immigrant rights causes. Some say they’ve left the decision up to their staff, who rely on the day’s wages. One restaurateur, who requested anonymity for fear of ICE retaliation, said their employees’ earnings regularly pay for undocumented staff’s private transportation to and from work, and they cannot afford to close for even a single night.
Some of L.A.’s restaurants, bars and cafes closed in observance of the strike and protests include Proof Bakery, Wilde’s, South LA Cafe, Lasita, Canyon Coffee, Thunderbolt, Chainsaw, Yellow Paper Burger, Kitchen Mouse, Bacetti, Mala Class, No Smoking and Civil Coffee. Donna’s and Lowboy in Echo Park announced they would remain open and fundraise, but decided Friday to close entirely; sibling bars Vandell and Bar Flores also closed.
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Guelaguetza‘s co-owner and Independent Hospitality Coalition member Bricia Lopez took to social media Thursday afternoon to provide tips for fellow restaurateurs who can’t afford to close their businesses today. They included donating to immigrant rights organizations or spotlighting specific fundraising dishes, as many across the county now are.
Some local restaurants are opting to remain open but are donating the day or the weekend’s proceeds to nonprofits and legal funds, or they’re temporarily flipping their dining rooms to centers for community action such as making protests signs.
Guelaguetza is offering free horchata and cafe de olla for protesters or those who can provide proof of donations to immigrant communities through 3 p.m. In Glassell Park, a pop-up tonight will raise funds for street vendors currently avoiding work for fear of ICE. Taiwanese chef Vivian Ku is fundraising at her downtown and Highland Park restaurants, while she closes Silver Lake’s Pine & Crane to the public in order to use it as a staging ground for aid groups today.
“For a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, etc., they’re just a few bad days from being upside down for the month, and a few bad months from having no business at all,” an owner of Highland Park’s Santa Canela posted to Instagram on Thursday. “We understand the weight and power of collective action, but plain and simple: We didn’t feel comfortable making financial decisions on behalf of our entire team as to whether or not they could afford to lose another shift at the end of the month at a time when cost of living has never been higher.”
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Home-style Chinese restaurant Woon, with locations in Historic Filipinotown and on the edge of Pasadena bordering Altadena, will remain open, too.
“I wish we had the luxury of closing our doors, but we will keep them open as we stand in solidarity with our community and neighbors,” chef-owner Keegan Fong posted to Instagram. “We’ve given our staff the option to take the day off while also allowing those who need the hours to continue to work.”
Even those who are closing today have stressed the importance of supporting local restaurants.
Historic Filipinotown bar Thunderbolt posted its decision to close on Friday morning, with a statement on Instagram that read, “This strike isn’t about small businesses, but they will bear the weight of it...For small business in the food and beverage industry, closing the doors on a Friday night — during an already brutal January — can be catastrophic.”
Here are some L.A.-area restaurants remaining open today but fundraising for immigrant rights.
Alder & Sage
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Baroo and Shiku
Goldburger
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Good Neighbor Bar
Kumquat Coffee
Loreto
Love Hour
Maru Coffee
Petit Trois
Pine & Crane DTLA
Rustic Canyon
“What we feel is best for our team is to remain open this Friday to support our community,” the restaurant’s team posted to Instagram this morning. “We have communicated with our staff, and offered all of them the opportunity to take the day off to exercise their freedom of speech by protesting. We understand the weight and power of collective action, but we did not feel comfortable making financial decisions on behalf of our entire team as to whether or not they could afford to lose another shift at the end of the month when the cost of living has never been higher, or to take away their sense of community when that may be what they need most at that moment.”
Saltie Girl
Santa Canela
Solarc Brewing
Suá Superette
Woon
