Vanessa Ayala remembers when Thursday nights were loud.
"We've had several things happen, especially here in Bonita with immigration and Hispanics -- you can't be in the streets anymore like you used to," said Ayala, co-owner of Mexico Lindo restaurant.
Mexico Lindo sits on the corner of a roundabout in Bonita Springs' Rosemary neighborhood. It's the kind of small restaurant where you grab your own drinks from the fridge and staff often know customers orders - - or at least, they used to.
"We had a lot of cops, ICE, coming through and taking people to jail, and that kind of slowed our business down," Ayala said.
On Thursday night, Jan. 8, most of the customers were first-timers. The crowd was mostly older and mostly white. They were there for “Let’s Melt Some ICE,” an initiative named in reference to federal immigration enforcement. Sigfredo Hernandez spearheaded the effort after surveying local Hispanic businesses and finding sales had dropped sharply — some by as much as 50%.
"They have been severely affected by the immigration raids, and so we decided that we had to do something to support them," Hernandez said. "The event is very simple. We pick a Hispanic restaurant that has suffered because of the immigration raids. Typically, on a Thursday night, we visit the restaurant, spend our money there, have a wonderful time, and then we visit a Hispanic store. Whatever we buy, we donate to the immigrant families in need. So, it's a twofer."
He's not alone in the effort. Civic action groups like the Blue Gators and Estero United have joined the campaign. Liz Matt, a member of the Blue Gators, said the decline of businesses would hollow out the community.
"This is a wonderful community, and this little downtown is part of what people like about moving to Bonita Springs," Matt said. "So if the people who are the typical customers are no longer feeling confident or safe to patronize the laundromat, this restaurant, that grocery store -- what do we do as the rest of the citizens?"
Matt shares that the group has organized similar events before, but one of those businesses has already closed.
"Didn't matter how much enthusiasm we brought to it, it was already at the breaking point," Matt said. "So we want to keep these business owners active and alive and vital and not breaking."
After dinner, the group headed to Tienda El Quetzal, a Guatemalan store, to buy items to donate to Cafe of Life. Tomorrow, Mexico Lindo might be empty again. For tonight, Ayala's tables were full.
"Everyone has to help each other out," Ayala said. "And even though things get hard, we do our best to provide. Even when we don't have enough to provide, we just do what we can."
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