The owner of a Minneapolis restaurant that was burned during the 2020 protests is rebuilding in the name of George Floyd and the community
Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked protests in the city and nationwide. In the wake of the killing, Ruhel Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant, lost his restaurant Gandhi Mahal to a fire allegedly started by a right-wing extremist hoping to escalate violence. Rather than get upset, Islam, speaking to a friend on the phone, said, “Let my building burn. Justice needs to be served.” His story quickly went viral. A year later, Islam is in the process of rebuilding his restaurant, and, in an interview with Eater, says he wants to build a green sustainable building that will be a part of the community for the next 100 years: “One of our main intentions is not to just rebuild with bricks; we’ve got to rebuild with love and peace and justice. When people come in, they need to feel it.”
