ABOUT PHILLIS ENGELBERT:
Phillis Engelbert is the owner of three vegan establishments in Ann Arbor: Detroit Street Filling Station, The Lunch Room Bakery & Café, and North Star Lounge. Phillis also serves on the board of Dawn Farm addiction treatment organization.
Prior to becoming a vegan foodie and restaurateur, Phillis worked for 25 years as a community organizer, writer, and nonprofit administrator.
Phillis cut her activist teeth as a student organizer at the University of Michigan in the 1980s. After graduating with degrees in biology and natural resources, she coordinated a national anti-war march, worked as a union organizer, and wrote several volumes of reference books on science and social science topics. In the early 2000s she was a founder and the first executive director of Michigan Peaceworks. She is interested in growth, change, empowerment and community building on individual and societal levels.
ABOUT ANDY LABARRE:
Andy LaBarre was first elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in 2012, representing District 7, located in the eastern half of the City of Ann Arbor. Andy is a proud Democrat. For 2021 he serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners, and previously served as Chair of the Board (2017-18), Chair of the Ways and Means Committee (2015-16), and Chair of the Working Session Committee (2013-14). Andy lives in northern Ann Arbor with his wife Megan (a teacher at Dexter Community Schools), son Declan, daughter Delaney, and dogs, Monster and Frankie.
Andy now serves as Executive Vice President and Director of Government Relations for the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber and is David Fair's co-host for "Washtenaw Business Lens."
RESOURCES:
Detroit Street Filling Station
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to the first ever edition of a new monthly segment called Washtenaw Business Lens. I'm David Fair, and on the second Friday of each month, we're going to put perspective to local, state, and national news as it impacts businesses in our community. To better connect you to these issues and businesses, we've partnered with an organization whose business is business. That is the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber. Andy LaBarre will join us each month for these conversations. Andy serves as executive vice president and director of government relations for the chamber. And, Andy, thank you so much for being a part of this!
Andy LaBarre: Thank you for having me here! Really looking forward to this collaboration with WEMU and the A2Y Chamber!
David Fair: Well, each month, Andy is going to bring in a member of the local business community for some perspective and connection. And today, we're going to look at the impacts of federal immigration policy. Our guest is owner of three Ann Arbor vegan businesses. Phillis Engelbert is proprietor of Detroit Street Filling Station, North Star Lounge, and the Lunch Room Bakery and Cafe. It's so good to have you here, Phyllis! I appreciate it!
Phillis Engelbert: Thanks, David! Thanks so much for having me!
David Fair: We've all heard the rumors and confirmed cases of ICE agents out on the streets in Washtenaw County. Phillis, is this something you have personally experienced or heard about?
Phillis Engelbert I have not personally experienced ICE activity, but I do hear about it happening on a daily basis throughout the county and at a handful of downtown restaurants over the past months. And there's not a lot of talk about it. People are afraid to come out and say, "ICE was at my restaurant." But staff members talk, and some of them have spoken to me or to my employees. So, there's lots of buzz around the community about this happening.
David Fair: And what is the sentiment, Phillis? Fear? Anger? A combination of both?
Phillis Engelbert Well, there is. Among the restaurant owners that I have heard about or spoken to, there is a sentiment of fear. People don't want to be targeted if they have not already been targeted. People don't want their reputation to be harmed by the fact that there was an ICE raid at their restaurant. I think a lot of people are just kind of running scared in general, because that is sort of the general sentiment happening. We're kind of living in a climate of fear and retribution, but I am speaking today because I feel like the best response is to speak out and for everybody to speak out, as opposed to everybody being cowed into silence.
David Fair: But there are a lot of folks who do feel fearful of speaking out. Andy, I know you went knocking on some doors and looking for people to discuss immigration policy in ICE. Do you have a sense of the scope and the fear?
Phillis Engelbert: I think I do. And unfortunately, it's widespread. Look, usually, when I reach out to members or businesses to talk about an important issue, the response is maybe an overabundance of folks who are looking to talk. On this issue, there is a real sense of "I've got to stay quiet. Yes, it's happening, and I'm not going to talk about it." And that was coming from folks--you know, both employees--but also folks who own or operate the businesses. And so, there's a real sense, David, that there's sort of a stifling that is going on. It is unlike anything I've seen in 14 years in this role with the chamber. So, it's significant!
David Fair: Now, is the worry about ICE just for those who don't have proper documentation or are you finding that it does affect a larger segment of the population as well?
Andy LaBarre: Well, it does affect a larger segment. And so, for instance, there are the individuals that might be involved in an action, but there are also those dependents, family members, community members that have any number of interactions with the person who's involved. It impacts the lives of a family, the lives of a group or association. And there are plenty of instances where it may not be the employee that you have that is involved or is stopped by ICE. But if their loved one is, and that becomes a major issue logistically in their life, that's going to impact your business. When somebody doesn't show up for a shift because their brother or husband or whomever is being held by ICE, that's an issue for you as an operator and owner right away, right now.
David Fair: This is the first presentation of Washtenaw Business Lens on 89.1 WEMU, and we're talking the impacts of immigration policy and ICE on local businesses with Ann Arbor business owner, Phillis Engelbert and Andy LaBarre from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber. Phillis, you've been in business for 15 years and endured the economic upturns and downturns. You went through a pandemic and other disruptions. Does this time and place feel different?
Phillis Engelbert: Yes, it does. And you're right. My business has survived significant challenges, but this period definitely feels different. Everyone is carrying extra stress. The economic and political uncertainty and chaos and the chipping away at our rights, it just has people on edge. I mean, never before in this country have we had plain clothes, masked men and unmarked vehicles apprehending immigrants or people who look like immigrants on the street and having them go into this gulag of domestic and international prisons and sometimes not even knowing where they are. So, not only is it different for my business, but it just doesn't feel like America.
David Fair: Andy, you have said in the past that what businesses need is certainty. What do you think the short and long-term impacts on the restaurant industry, on the business community as a whole, will be if current federal immigration policy continues to create uncertainty?
Andy LaBarre: I think, unfortunately, David, it's going to be continued uncertainty. And it's going to be uncertainty that happens in uncertain ways at uncertain times and without some underpinning strategic sense of why. When you are in the context of a campaign or a traditional policy discussion, there are issues that are presented with some sense of we're going to take action as an administration to affect an outcome. That outcome will be broad and strategic. It will be sort of knowable. What's different in this moment and what is, I think, severely impacting businesses is there's an ambiguity about when, where, why and how and, ultimately, to what end. It's one thing to talk about immigration in the context of security or the notion of a border. It's a whole another thing to talk about sort of ad hoc immigration raid action in a way that you can't plan for, understand and be ready to respond to as a business. And if for no other reason, I think folks need to be aware of this because, as you said, the one thing businesses across any sector want is some level of certainty. If you're going to make that investment in your business, if you're going to spend that money in that time in your life, you want to have some sense of the rules of the road and some sense of being able to plan for it.
David Fair: Well, Phillis, you've made that investment. How do you balance running a business with being a concerned and conscientious community member in this particular social and political climate?
Phillis Engelbert: Well, being a concerned and conscientious member of the community has always been central to my business plan. So, this does fit in. It just adds that kind of extra strain and unknowing of what quite is coming down the pike. You try to do everything right as a business owner. You try offer a good product, something that makes people feel good to be there, to be a good employer and all that. But like we've seen in Washington, D.C. with the militarization there, restaurant traffic and foot traffic is way down and reservations are way down. And restaurants are where people go to celebrate and to have a good time and to feel good. And if you are living in this age of uncertainty and fear, you don't really feel like celebrating. And so, I think from what I've heard, that sentiment is affecting a lot of restaurants and is depressing traffic to restaurants.
David Fair: Once again, we're talking with Andy LaBarre and Phillis Engelbert on WEMU's new feature, Washtenaw Business Lens. Phillis, what do you think politicians and community leaders understand about the effect of ICE enforcement actions on small businesses and what do they need to understand?
Phillis Engelbert: Well, I think Andy is a great example of somebody who does understand and is a business leader and can help the rest of us. But I think it would be helpful to continue to kind of bring all of this into the daylight, to have communication networks. I think every restaurant, employees and employers kind of need a game plan about what to do when ICE shows up at your door, what are the rights of you and your employees. And we'll have to see, but I think what will really have to happen is the community will have to come together to just say no to things that are discriminatory, things that un-American, things that inhumane and to kind of band together to get through this.
David Fair: And, Andy, very briefly, with all that we've discussed today and taking that into consideration, what, if anything, are you most optimistic about when it comes to immigration policy and the local business community?
Andy LaBarre: Well, I think what's happening is not going without being noticed. And I think if you look at a community like Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, these are engaged people that value the sorts of businesses like Phillis has and operates. And so, they're paying attention. They're looking for how do they continue to patronize those businesses and continue to support them. And the one thing that I think I draw specific optimism is the level of innovation that exists in the business sector was on full display during the pandemic. I think that level of innovation is still there and is going to rise to the fore.
David Fair: Well, thank you both very much for being here on the first-ever Washtenaw Business Lens! That is Phillis Engelbert. She is owner of the three vegan businesses in Ann Arbor, those being the Detroit Street Filling Station, the Lunch Room Bakery and Cafe, and North Star Lounge. And our partner in Washtenaw Business Lens is the Ann Arbor /Ypsilanti Regional Chamber and Andy LaBarre. We'll see you again, Andy, in November!
Andy LaBarre: Yes, sir! I'm looking forward to it!
David Fair: I'm David Fair, inviting you to join us the second Friday of each month as we look at the news of the day and its impacts on our business community, Washtenaw Business Lens. This is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
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