Immigration arrests left NC restaurants short-staffed and job sites idle, owners say

By: Ahmed Jallow

Outlets: North Carolina Newsline

Published: February 20, 2026

Words: 625

Last Updated: 1 week, 2 days ago

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For two weeks last November, kitchens at David “Woody” Lockwood’s restaurants ran short of dishwashers, prep cooks and servers as workers stayed home, afraid to leave their houses during a federal immigration crackdown that resulted in more than 400 arrests across North Carolina.

“We had a lot of people, mostly in the kitchen, that didn’t feel safe coming to work,” said Lockwood, a co-owner of Trophy Brewing and The Bend. That meant managers working …

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