On 23rd Street, ethnic restaurants are losing a lot of business, as ICE fears keep diners home

Running through the heart of Richmond and San Pablo, 23rd Street was once a bustling hub of immigrant-owned businesses. When a protest was held against the Trump administration’s immigration policies in January, it was on 23rd Street where hundreds of people gathered and marched in the pouring rain, waving flags from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. 

As 2025 comes to a close, immigrant-owned businesses along 23rd are reporting historically low sales. Restaurant owners, servers and organizers attribute this drop to a customer base wary of potential immigration raids. 

Juan Muñoz, who runs the United Business Organization, a local group representing the vast majority of businesses along the 23rd Street corridor, and others throughout Richmond and San Pablo, said that foot traffic and revenues are down between 60% and 80% for immigrant-owned businesses in the area. 

“Immigration has affected this area a lot because it is principally a hispanic area. … If people don’t have papers, they don’t want to go out because they are afraid to leave their kids, afraid they will be deported,” said Juan Nuñez, who has owned and operated El Mexicano Restaurant and Cafe on 23rd Street with his wife, Teresa Gonzales, for the past five years. Nuñez and Gonzales both immigrated to the United States from Latin America. 

“The restaurant business is one of the most difficult because there are so many bills to pay,” said Nuñez, adding that when people aren’t coming in to eat, the bills pile up and ingredients go to waste. On a weekly basis, the restaurant has been ordering only a third of its typical meat orders. 

Many eateries in the neighborhood cater to a clientele with roots in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Their dishes reflect those reminiscent of their patrons’ homelands. Nearly half of Richmond’s population is Hispanic, and more than a third is foreign born, U.S. Census data shows. Spanish is spoken in 40% of the households. Deportation fears are keeping many from skipping not only meals out, but also work, school and medical appointments, according to published reports. 

El Mexicano has been just barely surviving on a fraction of its typical sales. In years past, the restaurant was selling around $20,000 monthly. Now it is lucky to make $5,000 in a month, said Nuñez. He attributes a significant portion of that loss to orders they receive from delivery apps.

“People, if they want to eat, order from DoorDash. They don’t come here to the restaurant anymore,” said Nuñez. When people come in person, they often spend more, ordering drinks or appetizers. When it’s DoorDash, they only buy their one plate, he added. 

DoorDash only allows an option to tip the food runner, not the restaurant, so the 10% to 20% that a restaurant would normally make from tips now goes to the driver. 

El Mexicano is open every day of the week except Monday, when Nuñez and Gonzales prepare for the week to come. Prior to this year, they had an employee who would serve and clean tables, but they’ve had to let them go. 

For servers still holding onto work, the situation is not much better. 

“Now we can have a six-hour shift and not take anything home, only our salary, because if nobody comes in, there’s no tips,” said Maria Mendoza, a server at La Gran Chiquita on the corner of 23rd Street and Exchange Place. 

“I buy the basic necessities to live, she said, noting that providing for her three children is her top priority. “Before, I could spend money on things that weren’t as necessary. But right now, the most important thing is to be able to afford rent and food.” 

Mendoza has lived in Richmond for 18 years and has worked as a server at La Gran Chiquita for the past seven. The restaurant is spacious, with walls painted to appear made of stone, a foosball table toward the back and dozens of tinseled pinatas hanging from the ceiling. It’s the kind of place built for large parties. 

In years past, the restaurant would fill up most weekends, with lines of people waiting to enjoy the lively atmosphere and the specialty barbacoa de borrego, a slow-cooked goat recipe served with consomme. On busy nights, Mendoza could earn up to $200 in tips in a single shift. But Mendoza said they haven’t filled the building once this year, and there are many days that no one comes in at all. 

“People are afraid to go out. They just want to stay home and obviously go to work, but they go with fear, they aren’t thinking about going out to eat at a restaurant and enjoy themselves,” said Mendoza. 

In addition to the risk of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, Mendoza said that as things become more expensive, many customers are saving during uncertain times.

Saving money, just in case

Muñoz, from United Business Organization, also is a business owner and has seen declining foot traffic at his 23rd Street shop, Dulceria Fiesta Mexicana. He attributes the drop to immigration enforcement and people’s fears of leaving home. He also noted that some people are saving up in case they get deported. 

For many people, remaining in their home country is not an option, Muñoz said. So if they get deported, they would expect to eventually cross the border again. 

“People have made their lives here,” said Muñoz. 

For them, the fear of being deported is the fear of having to relive the arduous journey back to their home in the United States, and to pay the rising cost of the crossing. 

A person hoping to cross the border illegally can expect to pay upward of $15,000 to a “coyote,” someone who guides immigrants across the border outside of the legal points of entry, according to Muñoz and an article published earlier this year in The Latin Times. 

With a customer base that is hunkering down against the threat of deportation, Nuñez and his wife have run the numbers and considered closing down El Mexicano when their lease comes up for renewal next year. For now, they are holding on to hope that things will improve. 

“We are longing for this period of government to end,” Nuñez said, “to have the opportunity to breathe.”

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