During the peak of Operation Metro Surge, Karmel Mall, a once-bustling Somali shopping center and community hub, was quiet. As many as 60 to 80% of the mall’s nearly 650 businesses were shuttered as owners, workers and customers avoided areas with a heavy presence of federal agents.
Although the mall’s foot traffic has slowly increased in the six months since then, it is nowhere near its usual levels. About 25% of the mall’s businesses are still closed, according to Yusra Mohamud, a business adviser at the Lake Street Council. Others are open for limited hours; their owners have taken other jobs to keep themselves and their shops going.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, though, the Lake Street Council’s “You Belong Here” cash mob, which encouraged shoppers to patronize Karmel Mall that evening, brought fresh faces into the mall.
Twin Cities residents who had not previously frequented the shopping center sampled sweets, coffee and sambusas and browsed through stores selling traditional Somali clothing and gold jewelry. The cash mob was the 12th and final installment in an event series meant to bring money and business to shops hit hardest by Metro Surge…