News - Neighbors unite against problem stores - Neighbors unite against problem stores

    Northside ACORN members took the streets again on March 4 to hold the owners of local corner stores accountable to the community. This time the protest was not at the stores themselves, like the ones held in February, but at the home of Sikander Dar, the President of Totem Foods Inc, a company that owns the properties of several Northside corner stores.

    Northside residents have long complained that the stores encourage drugs, violence, trash, and other negative elements in the neighborhood. ACORN is demanding that all corner stores stop the sale of drug paraphernalia, keep their store clean and sanitary, and improve security around the store by discouraging loitering and installing adequate lighting and cameras.

    The members stepped up their tactics a notch and went directly to Dar’s enormous home in a wealthy Eden Prairie neighborhood. The group asked Dar to meet and discuss the needed changes to his properties, but when he refused the members began visiting the homes in Dar’s neighborhood, handing out a flyer with pictures of the stores and a request for them to call Dar about the problem.

    After half an hour of visiting Dar’s neighbors and loudly chanting, “Totem Foods, you’re no good! Get out of our neighborhood!” Dar drove out of his garage and engaged the group from within his car. Dar told the group that he was not responsible for the problems associated with his properties. He said the owner of each business is responsible for what is sold and what happens at each store. ACORN members countered that property owners are the bottom line in responsibility for problems their tenants create.