Duluth Palestinian restaurant tagged by ‘threatening’ graffiti

DULUTH — The city’s new Palestinian restaurant was tagged by “threatening” graffiti, its owners posted to social media Friday.

Falastin, which replaced the New London Cafe in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood last spring, is open two days a week. It closed Friday “for the safety of our staff, customers and space,” says the post, which also described the graffiti as “militant.”

Duluth police said a derogatory anti-Palestinian message was left on the restaurant’s door frame sometime between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. They said no security footage existed.

A message left with co-owner Lyla Abukhodair wasn’t immediately returned.

Falastin is Arabic for Palestine. The city’s first Palestinian restaurant began as a pop-up with Abukhodair and her husband, Sam Miller, and mother, Ann Abukhodair.

Falastin opened in early May. Inside, a market sells rugs hand-woven by Palestinian and Jordanian women, and farm-direct goods from the Palestinian territories.

The restaurant, which is regularly packed, received dozens of comments in support on its Instagram account Friday, many from local businesses.

“It feels a little scary at times, but in a good way,” Abukhodair told the Star Tribune in May about the venture. “But I’ve always believed in putting it all out there.”