MINNEAPOLIS — On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, Lonnie McQuirter closed 36 Lyn Refuel Station in Minneapolis just as he had done hundreds of times before.
It was the day after police put George Floyd in a chokehold that later killed him outside of Cup Foods, located less than 2 miles east of McQuirter’s c-store.
McQuirter thought the protesters and looters (which he deliberately differentiates) would not spill over into his neighborhood. But around 1:30 a.m. the next morning, looters broke into 36 Lyn Refuel Station, causing about $2,700 worth of damage and stealing $177 and a bag of chips, McQuirter says.
McQuirter rushed to the store. He stood watch outside until the sun came up, when he could get materials to board up the store.
A lot of out-of-town visitors came into the store that Wednesday and in the days that followed, McQuirter says. He could tell by their license plates and the questions they asked—including whether he sold menthol cigars (Minneapolis banned menthol tobacco products in 2018). Many of the out-of-towners were trying to steal items from the store during the day, figuring the police were busy elsewhere, McQuirter says. Some looters mistook McQuirter, who is Black, as one of them, he says.
“There’s some people that, unfortunately, with their life experiences and everything that’s going on … they can’t comprehend the fact that, yes, you could be a Black person and own a business,” McQuirter says, adding that other Black-owned c-store owners in the area faced the same problem. “We’re not just hired help or security; we actually own the business. And that was a frustration,” McQuirter says.
It hurt McQuirter to look the looters—many of whom looked similar to him—in the eye and see people who couldn’t fathom that he was the store owner. “They have no clue what they could do and how far they can go on in this world,” McQuirter says.
“It says that we’re fostering a welcoming and open and inviting atmosphere, which is what I wish to maintain in my store.”
A couple years earlier, McQuirter was doing a risk-management exercise with a group of c-store operators. He brought up civil unrest as one of the most pressing issues c-stores should be prepared for. Some retailers laughed at the thought.
While protests and civil unrest are not new, 2020 brought into sharper focus for many retailers the need to plan for these events and to better their racial diversity and inclusion efforts moving forward.
Nearly a year after the Floyd protests, when a police officer shot and killed Daunte Wright in a traffic stop in Minneapolis, McQuirter chose not to board up his business. He preferred to send the message to residents in his community that he understood and was there to meet their needs.
“[Boarding up windows] felt like they kind of abandoned their customer and abandoned their communities,” McQuirter says. “[Residents are] having to deal with the problem of police brutality … whereas businesses, they just kind of up and closed down and blamed various organizations and a portion of society instead of actually being the change there.”
C-stores can often be a safe place for people to turn to, whether they’re facing a domestic situation or in immediate need of a fire extinguisher, McQuirter says. Rather than boarding up to protect a store, business owners need to think about what they can do to make sure that residents and customers remain safe.
There also must be a balance between the community’s needs and those of employees.
When McQuirter knew the Floyd protests were likely to shut down most of the city, he gave some of his staff his credit card and told them to stock up at home. And although he did not board up his store when Wright protests took place, he did close up early for the sake of his employees.
“If they’re saying that it’s going to be a bad one, then I just send them home,” McQuirter says. “I don’t want to put their life in jeopardy.”
- Click here to read CSP’s complete DE&I: Starting the Conversation report.
Fostering change doesn’t have to happen only after someone is killed. McQuirter says he brings inclusiveness into his business strategy daily in the way he treats and interacts with customers and ensures employees are doing the same.
It’s not always comfortable to talk about diversity and inclusion, and often it makes people scared and nervous, McQuirter says. But simply starting a conversation with someone from a different background can help.
That’s part of what McQuirter aims to do as a sponsor of Open Streets Minneapolis. The city-run event aims to close major thoroughfares to car traffic and open them up to people biking and walking to connect them with neighbors and local businesses.
“For me, what it helps to do is it makes the world smaller,” McQuirter says.
His advice to c-store retailers is to not be afraid to ask questions about their customers, their beliefs and their backgrounds to get conversations started. “It shows that we have interest, and it shows that we care about them as an individual,” McQuirter says.
Sometimes people want to get their gas and go, but other times, the conversation creates a regular customer.
“[We can be] the place where people feel comfortable confiding in things and talking about their views. … They’re not going to be judged for believing what they believe and think, or [for] going to attend a protest, or saying that they backed the blue, too,” McQuirter says. “It says that we’re fostering a welcoming and open and inviting atmosphere, which is what I wish to maintain in my store.”