Bay Area restaurant owners are joining the national debate about immigration policy. President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on the issue has sparked the Sanctuary Restaurants Movement, which launched in early January and now counts more than 240 restaurants across the country. The Bay Area is home to about two dozen participating restaurants, including Alfred’s Steakhouse in San Francisco, Cancun Sabor Mexicano in Berkeley and Flea Street in Menlo Park.
Largely symbolic in nature, the collaboration is led by the Restaurant Opportunities Center United and promotes safe, tolerant spaces to restaurant workers, employers and consumers. While the sanctuary restaurant label doesn’t protect immigrants from law enforcement, the classification does spur business owners to educate themselves and their staff about how to handle federal officials during possible raids. READ MORE
