By Luke Sprinkel
MINNEAPOLIS – Cup Foods, the Minneapolis supermarket at the center of “George Floyd Square,” is suing the City of Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey for damages suffered as a result of the city’s actions surrounding George Floyd’s death.
The supermarket, located at the corner of E 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, is joined by four other businesses in its legal action against Minneapolis: Menthol Tobacco, LLC; Southside Electronics, Inc.; NMA Investments, LLC; and 3759 Chicago Ave, LLC. The lawsuit states that “One family owns all the businesses listed as Plaintiffs.”
The five businesses, represented by Attorney Michael B. Healey, are seeking over $1.5 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed in Hennepin County District Court on Nov. 17.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs criticize the City of Minneapolis for erecting concrete barricades around the plaintiffs’ businesses. Specifically, the civil suit claims that the city’s “affirmative decision to erect the barriers and allowing them to stand for over one year violated Plaintiffs’ property rights. The City also allowed crime to overtake the barricaded area, which led to severe physical and economic consequences for businesses within the area, including Plaintiffs.”
The group of five businesses also allege that Minneapolis “refused to remove the barricades despite countless requests from local residents and local businesses, including Plaintiffs.”
Additionally, the lawsuit calls out the failure of Minneapolis “to provide police protection as required by the City’s charter as required by law.”
Before riots engulfed Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, the Minneapolis Police Department had 892 police officers. In October of 2023, the city only employed 512 officers. The Minneapolis City Charter requires the city to employ a minimum of 731 police officers.
The Cup Foods lawsuit also states that “the Mayor, the City, the City Council, and the Minneapolis Police Department collectively agreed to severely limit police response in the barricaded area surrounding Plaintiffs’ businesses.”
The skyrocketing crime and lawlessness that engulfed the area is well documented. For a period, the intersection of E 38th Street and Chicago Avenue became an “autonomous zone” or “No Go Zone” in which police were not welcome. The intersection was also referred to as the “Free State of George Floyd.”
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs describe at length the crime that has swept through their neighborhood since May of 2020; this list includes homicides, shootings, assaults, vandalism, and a kidnapping. The lawsuit says one business owner described “the ‘No Go Zone’ as a ‘third-world country.’”
In seeking damages against Minneapolis, the plaintiffs claim that the unchecked chaos surrounding their businesses has caused their property value to drop from $2 million to just $200,000.
This article originally appeared at Alpha News and was reprinted with permission.
