A Columbia Heights restaurant that’s been in business for about two decades is now in danger of closing. Widespread fears of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are keeping customers and staff away.
El Rinconcito II serves Salvadoran food and is known for its pupusas. Claudia Arias, the owner’s daughter, said it’s been a rocky year, and business has gone downhill amid President Donald Trump’s administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
“Our Latino community has stopped showing up,” she said. “People have just stopped coming. Cooks have been afraid to come to work.”
Even though she and her sister have other jobs, they’ve been helping their mom Reyna by covering shifts and trying to support the staff. Arias recalled what happened when one customer thought ICE agents were outside the restaurant.
“We just told him to go upstairs and hide all the way in the back because we have a back patio,” she said. “We were scoping the outside to make sure ICE wasn’t around.”
The threat of ICE raids is the latest in a string of challenges. There was a fire in 2017, then the COVID-19 pandemic, which they’re still recovering from. Arias said they’re at least $200,000 in debt and are considering leasing parts of the restaurant. She estimated they could end up closing in six months if business does not pick up.
“Come out and eat and support us,” she said. “Even if it’s just an appetizer, that goes such a long way.”
Arias is grateful for the support they’ve gotten from the community. She said she is hopeful the clientele they’ve lost will return but understands their fear.
“I was afraid at one point, and I’m an American,” she said. “We have your back.”
WTOP’s Jose Umaña contributed to this report.
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