The big news of the weekend, surely, was the massive raid on all 11 Bay Area locations of El Balazo, a move that probably made some other local restaurateurs plenty nervous. Coming exactly a day after the May Day immigration protests and a day before Cinco de Mayo weekend celebrations, ICE agents stormed the restaurants, locked down the premises and conducted interviews, arresting 63 illegal workers in all. Haight Ashbury Beat has eyewitness accounts of the raid on Haight Street, and protests are already en route. As of today, most of El Balazo's locations seem to have reopened, and the Haight one was back in business over the weekend. However, the Bayview El Balazo is still closed, but the good news is that it does sport one of the best signs we've seen in a long while: "Legendary Mexican Food: Now Inside the Car Wash!"
· Balazo closed? [Haight Ashbury Beat]
· Immigration raids at 11 El Balazo restaurants - 63 seized [Chron]
· Protest Today Against ICE Raids on Balazo Taquerias [SFCitizen]
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