Food  |  News & Politics

DC Restaurants Close for “A Day Without Immigrants”

Today's protest takes aim at Trump's immigration crackdown.

Photograph by sorendls via iStock/Getty Images Plus.

A number of DC restaurants will close today, February 3 for a “Day Without Immigrants,” a protest of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown that aims to show the enormous impact immigrants have on the hospitality industry.

“If you work in restaurants, it’s obvious just how vital immigrant work is,” says Chris Svetlik, whose Tex-Mex restaurant Republic Cantina in Truxton Circle and Hill East Burger bar in Southeast DC are among those closing today. “It’s just been very concerning to see the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric, seeing there be real threats to folks being yanked from their homes—people who have been in this country for decades, children who have grown up here, have no life outside of the US.  So I think there’s a good deal of sympathy and fear on behalf of our staff.”

Svetlik says some of his staff brought the protest to his attention, and then they decided to close after an informal vote. He says an atmosphere of fear has permeated the restaurant community since Trump took office, and there’s been concern that DC in particular would be targeted with “theatrical raids.” In response to the participation in a “Day Without Immigrants,” Svetlik has gotten isolated comments threatening to call ICE, but overall the response has been “really supportive.”

Other restaurants closed today include Casa Teresa, Hiraya, Little Beast, Nativo Coffee Shop, Pearl’s Bagels, Pizzeria Paradiso, the Roost, and Uno Mas.

“I’m also an immigrant, so I felt like it’s the best decision for us to kind of just show appreciation for our team,” says Hiraya chef/owner Paolo Dungca, who immigrated to the US from the Philippines in 2004. Both Svetlik and Dungca said they would pay any staff scheduled to work for the day off.

More than 100 local restaurants shut down for a “Day Without Immigrants” protest that took place in February 2017, shortly into Trump’s first term. That protest felt much more high profile, with closures that included José Andrés’s restaurants and all DC-area Sweetgreen locations.

At the time, Dungca worked for (now closed) Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria, and he recalls how he was one of the few kitchen staff who showed up on that day. “It was just really tough to work, because there was so much work to be done, and we were just really short-handed. I just didn’t want to have to go through that again, just to show support as well.”

This time around, there’s a greater sense of anxiety and uncertainty within the workforce of many restaurants as Trump aims to ramp up ICE raids and deportations, strip immigrants from certain countries of their legal status, halt refugee programs, and end birthright citizenship.

“We’re being demonized and portrayed as criminals—and that immigrants come here to live off others. We need to remind people that those narratives are super false, super dangerous. They threaten the safety, well-being, and opportunities for hardworking people that live here without documentation,” says one chef, who is now a US citizen but was once undocumented. (The chef, whose restaurant is not among those closing, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of becoming a target.) “The mood right now is of a lot of fear.”

This story has been updated with the names of more restaurants participating in a “Day Without Immigrants.” 

Jessica Sidman
Food Editor

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.