Manolo’s Bakery: Charlotte, NC
Photos and words by Sean Rayford
Baruch attended his first protest on Wednesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. All photos made Wednesday near Manolo’s Bakery in the Queen City on November 19, 2025.
As Border Patrol descended on Charlotte, NC this week — Manolo’s Bakery along Central Ave. on the east side of the city, became the public epicenter of resistance.
During the day, small groups of “the olds,” came out, as one demonstrator described — referring to retired, elderly and sometimes frail demonstrators standing and sitting outside the closed bakery.
As night falls, “the olds” go home but the crowd grows exponentially into the hundreds. Mostly young people. Teens and folks in their 20s, and 30s. Some elders hang back with younger children. Folks hug, shake hands and high five upon arrival. Some show up in costumes.
Jorge, 30 years-old, grew up in the area and has lived in Charlotte for nearly 25 years. His birthday cakes came from Manolo’s.
Naga the dog watches protestors along Central Ave. in Charlotte, NC.
“We used to get our haircuts over here on the corner — come get a little quick pastry,” he says, “It’s very sad that, due to the situation, it’s not just Manolo’s, but a lot of businesses can't even run, because it's not even about the profit anymore. It's just about putting everybody's safety in jeopardy.”
As evening set in, Jorge pulled into the strip mall parking lot, unfolded plastic tables and set out cardboard trashcans lined with plastic bags. He brought friends.
“As an Hispanic, I believe that the food is the key to the heart. You know, we've seen a lot of support from everybody here in Charlotte, so we wanted to give a little bit of joy back. So we got together a couple restaurants here in Charlotte. Las Delicias is one of them on Albemarle, and I asked them to make us, you know, simple food that we can hand out, give out easily — give everybody a little bit more of an energy boost throughout the week as we keep protesting peacefully, of course, and, you know, get us all together and give us some good time. So we got the food together. We're also asking people to come and drop off essential items. Water, beans, you know, non perishables that we can go hand out to communities that might not be able to head out to the stores.”
Local police are everywhere this evening — but mostly out of sight. Some appear to sit in the shadows. On one occasion they pursued someone in a nearby parking lot. Lights flashing, but no sirens - navigating the unusual crowds at reasonable speeds.
At one point, police handcuffed a man at a nearby shopping center. Things appeared calm as several people observe and record.
On Central Ave, in an area the length of a football field or two, motorists circle at slow speeds often stopping in the street, revving their engines and honking their horns. At the corner of Manolo’s Bakery is a traffic light.
Vehicles stop and crowds move into the street.
For a while, the demonstrators occupy the right lane. After one Mecklenburg County officer drives through and is berated — another passes smiling and laughing. At a red light, a postal service worker stretches out of the windows with their phone on a video chat.
If you didn’t read the signs or hear the messages, you’d have no idea why the people had come out. It was more like a party than a protest. Teenagers blew kisses at one another and flirted like it was Friday night after the game.
Frank spent most of Wednesday protesting. He spent time at Home Depot, Hendrick Automotive and along Central Ave in front of Manolo’s Bakery in Charlotte, NC.
After a young man made advances to a young lady, an elder turned and warned him, “I’m telling your mama!” She laughed and wagged her finger.
When traffic stopped the crowds often gathered amongst the vehicles waving signs and flags. They cheered and blew whistles.
Layered atop all the loud sounds, each passing vehicle brought a variety of systems and soundtracks. The cars with the most annoying and ridiculous exhaust — were the icing on top of the cacophony cake.
I often saw smoke hanging in the air, but only once saw a proper burnout. A photojournalist from the Charlotte Observer reported a nearby dumpster fire. Firefighters responded and passed through the crowd.
Baruch arrived before sunset and stayed for hours. Boisterous, one hand occupied with a sign and the other balled in a raised fist — the 18 year-old moved quickly through the crowd. Pumping up others, he’s like a linebacker team captain on the sideline after a pick-6.
He lives down the street and it’s his first protest ever.
Brian Ballard drove from nearby York County, South Carolina to lend his support. He’s been involved in protests in his community and wanted to use that experience to assist the Queen City. On Tuesday night, he said this meant walking across the street and talking to local police lurking in the shadows.
“Folks were a little spooked that it might be I.C.E. So, you know, maybe unwise, but I went over to the dark cemetery by myself to see what was going on.”
They identified themselves as local law enforcement and neither vehicles nor uniforms raised alarm bells.
I only spent one evening outside Manolo’s Bakery in Charlotte as Border Patrol headquartered their “Charlotte’s Web” operations in the Tarheel state. I stayed late but left when a crowd was still bumping.
Jorge, center, and Brian, right, talk with a demonstrator after Jorge brought food to the protest.
