# Somali businesses in Minnesota: the malls of Minneapolis

> Somali-owned business in Minnesota in facts: the suuq malls, counts from studies, women traders, the 2025 to 2026 enforcement surge and its cost.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/somali-businesses-in-minnesota/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The short version

Somali businesses in Minnesota grew from the 1990s around Lake Street, Cedar-Riverside and south Minneapolis. Many are small stalls inside indoor malls, called **suuqs** (markets), selling clothing, jewellery, electronics, halal food, travel and money transfer services ([Somali business owners in the Twin Cities, CORE repository](https://core.ac.uk/download/46721289.pdf); [Minnesota Daily](https://mndaily.com/221306/uncategorized/somali-businesses-growing-locally)).

## How many

- A study of Somali business owners counted **129 Somali-owned street-front businesses** and **245 Somali-owned businesses inside suuqs** in the Twin Cities. Its sample covered about 38 percent of the street-front firms and 17 percent of those in malls ([Somali business owners in the Twin Cities, CORE repository](https://core.ac.uk/download/46721289.pdf)).
- A 2015 Concordia University study found **2,000 to 3,200 African-owned businesses** in Minnesota, more than earlier estimates ([Star Tribune, 2015](https://www.startribune.com/study-finds-african-immigrants-more-powerful-economic-force-than-previously-thought-in-twin-cities/311854661)).
- At Riverside Mall in Cedar-Riverside, **37 of 44 businesses** were owned by women in 2015 ([Star Tribune, Women drive success of Somali mall in Minneapolis](https://www.startribune.com/women-drive-success-of-somali-mall-in-minneapolis/323386601)).

## The malls

**Karmel Mall** (2910 Pleasant Avenue South) has about **650 businesses**; it is owned by the developer Basim Sabri. **Madina Mall** has about 40 shops ([Sahan Journal, 25 June 2026](https://sahanjournal.com/business-work/minnesota-somali-businesses-struggle-after-immigration-crackdown/)). Other outlets have described five African malls within two miles of each other in south Minneapolis, each with 300 to 500 businesses ([Minnesota Daily](https://mndaily.com/221306/uncategorized/somali-businesses-growing-locally)).

## The 2025 to 2026 enforcement surge

US immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, called **Operation Metro Surge**, intensified in December 2025 ([Minnesota Reformer, 9 September 2026](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/09/09/immigrant-businesses-hoped-customers-would-return-after-operation-metro-surge-but-many-havent/)). Reported effects on Somali business:
- At Karmel Mall, foot traffic fell by as much as **50 percent** for some owners, and the owner reported **$1.5 million** of unpaid rent ([Sahan Journal, 25 June 2026](https://sahanjournal.com/business-work/minnesota-somali-businesses-struggle-after-immigration-crackdown/)).
- At Madina Mall, **12 of 40 shops** closed and returned their keys (same source).
- A Hennepin County survey of 81 Lake Street businesses found average revenue losses of **$57,000** per business; 96 percent reported a negative impact (same source).
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on 10 June 2026 that the surge cost the city almost **$700 million**, including $445 million of lost business revenue; the city set up a $7 million Small Business Resiliency Fund (same source).
- National outlets reported empty malls in January 2026 ([Associated Press via WTOP, January 2026](https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2026/01/somali-businesses-struggle-during-the-minneapolis-ice-crackdown/); [Africanews, 19 January 2026](https://www.africanews.com/amp/2026/01/19/minneapolis-businesses-and-shopping-malls-stay-empty-over-fears-of-ice-patrols/)).

## Sources disagree

- **Mall size.** Counts for Karmel Mall run from "more than a hundred" businesses in some January 2026 reports to about 650 in Sahan Journal (sources above).
- **The success story.** *Twin Cities Business* has written about the gap between the picture of Somali business success and household incomes ([Twin Cities Business](https://tcbmag.com/?p=15367)). Minnesota Compass puts the median Somali household income at $49,554 for 2020 to 2024 ([Minnesota Compass](https://www.mncompass.org/topics/demographics/cultural-communities/somali)).

For the community itself, see [Somalis in Minneapolis and St Paul](/en/diaspora/minneapolis-st-paul/).

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