To Irene Tsukada Simonian, the storefront her aunt and uncle left her isn’t just a place of business — it’s a piece of Little Tokyo history.

Bunkado, which stands on the site of the historic neighborhood’s first Japanese-owned store on First Street, has been in her family for three generations. Nestled just east of downtown Los Angeles, the small gift shop typically attracts a steady stream of tourists and longtime locals browsing shelves of teaware, trinkets, paper goods, and even vintage cassettes.

But lately, Tsukada Simonian has been closing early — not just because foot traffic has dropped by a third, but to make sure her employees, many of whom commute from outside of the area, get home safely before dark.

Scattered protests have continued in and around downtown Los Angeles this week in response to federal immigration enforcement activities.

While most daytime demonstrations have remained peaceful, evenings have brought a different mood: protesters clashing with police, windows smashed, and businesses looted — including an Apple store and several high-end retailers. By Tuesday, police had made more than a dozen arrests related to looting, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who repeatedly condemned the violence, declared an overnight curfew that same evening.

Tsukada Simonian said she supports the right to protest, but draws a firm line between those demonstrating and those damaging property.

“There are the protests of people who are righteously upset about the federal immigration actions that are being taken,” she said. “But what happens in this course of the day, people do get upset, emotions are high, and I don’t know if it’s whole another group of people who come at night with the intention to steal..as far as I’m concerned, I have no sympathy or good feelings about what goes on at night. And it’s hurting us.”

Across downtown, business owners are facing similar pressures—reduced hours, fewer customers and growing concerns over safety. Some have boarded up windows as a precaution; others are trying to recover from smashed glass and stolen merchandise.

In Little Tokyo on Wednesday, remnants of the past six days of unrest were impossible to miss. Graffiti with phrases like “(expletive) ICE” was scrawled across store walls, bus stops and sidewalks.

Inside Little Tokyo Mall, several storefronts were boarded up. One anime store posted a notice announcing a temporary closure from June 11 to June 14, citing “careful consideration” amid safety concerns.

Nella McOsker, president and CEO of the Century City Association, an advocacy group that represents hundreds of businesses across downtown Los Angeles, said the area has been hit especially hard — particularly in the Historic Core and Little Tokyo.

“Downtown is already challenged even aside from the current civil unrest,” she said. “Businesses are struggling to stay open. They’ve seen lower foot traffic. They see regular public safety challenges throughout the week separate and apart from protest periods.”

She described the mood among merchants as, “angry, scared, frustrated, and deserted.”

“Some of them are contemplating and already have boarded up their entries,” she said. “It feels strangely similar to the prior periods. It should not be the case that doing business in downtown means that a small business or any type of business is collateral damage when there is sort of this exercise of civil rights.”

McOsker noted that many small businesses had just begun regaining momentum after the pandemic, only to be set back again by the latest wave of violence and uncertainty.

“It’s so hard on downtown,” she said. “It feels like we’ve been sustaining these blows for years now.”

Many of these businesses are immigrant-owned, McOsker noted, and the broader community — including the area’s 90,000 residents and hundreds of thousands of daily workers — deserves better protection.

Earlier this week, Century City Association formally asked Mayor Bass to impose a curfew–a request that was granted Tuesday evening.

The nightly curfew, now in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., spans a large portion of downtown including Little Tokyo, Fashion District and the Arts District. The mayor said it would continue for the next several days.

The order applies to everyone in the area, with limited exceptions for lawe enforcement, residents, workers, emergency personnel and credentialed media.

By Wednesday, the damage had already begun to ripple through Little Tokyo. Tsukada Simonian, who normally keeps her shop open until 6 or 7 p.m., has been closing earlier each day — 5 p.m., and even 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday in the face of growing vandalism. The side of her store was spray-painted with obscenities from the day before.

Still, she welcomed the curfew.

“I think the curfew works, at least it sort of broke the momentum for a while,” she said. “We’re grateful for that.”

Tsukada Simonian said many businesses are preemptively boarding up for this Saturday, when protests are expected to take place nationwide during a military parade in Washington D.C., that also coincides with President Trump’s birthday.

Even amid the uncertainty, she said there’s been a silver lining: loyal customers continue to visit the shop—whose name translates to “House of Culture”–just to show their support.

“For me, I feel that closing is just like giving up, she said. “And I’m not there yet.”