The sting of stun grenades and tear gas is still fresh for Chris Montana, owner of Du Nord Craft Spirits, one of the few Black-owned microdistilleries in the United States.
He spent the better part of May 27 — two days after the killing of George Floyd — handing out water and hand sanitizer to protestors, hoping to do his part advocating for change in a reeling city. Most of what he saw that day was a beautiful display of community building, he said, so he was sad to have it end in deafening, choking explosions.
As the protests intensified the next day, some of Montana’s employees posted “Black-owned” signs on the frontside of Du Nord, located near Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct. The signs would see Du Nord spared from the destruction many other businesses faced that Wednesday night.
