Many retailers that closed because of the unrest after George Floyd's death are now reopening

Retail outlets throughout the Twin Cities have begun to slowly reopen this week after many temporarily shut their doors in the wake of violence that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

Many stores in Minneapolis and St. Paul were damaged as rioters looted, smashed windows or painted graffiti on buildings. Others closed as a precaution.

Over recent days, customers have had to guess which stores have reopened, with many retailers choosing to limit their hours or close completely out of an abundance of caution after hundreds of businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul were vandalized, looted or had doors and windows smashed in the chaos following Floyd's death.

Minneapolis-based Target, which has had a handful of its local stores damaged or looted in recent days, has reopened most of its stores in the Twin Cities area, including the St. Paul Midway store, and it anticipates most other stores will open in the next couple of days, a company spokesman said Thursday.

The retailer announced earlier that it had altered hours or temporarily closed more than 200 of its Target stores across the country because of the unrest. Target CEO Brian Cornell has said the retailer hopes to reopen its Lake Street store — one of the first to be looted and damaged — before the end of the year.

Most Cub Foods also are open, although hours have been altered to meet curfews. The stores on S. 26th Avenue and W. Broadway will be closed for the foreseeable future because of heavy damage from the riots, the supermarket said.

On Thursday afternoon, many other major retail stores, grocers and pharmacies the Star Tribune called or visited in the metro area also were open — some still with windows and doors boarded up. Hours of operation varied widely and often were incorrect on company websites or Google searches.

The Walmart in West St. Paul was busy with shoppers buying garden supplies, groceries and essentials though some of the windows were still boarded up.

At the reopened Maplewood Mall, customers waited patiently to get their eyebrows shaped in one shop, but several clothing stores and eateries remained closed.

On St. Paul's East Side, a CVS Pharmacy parking lot bustled with cars, while across Arcade Street a sign on the front door of the Walgreens said "We are CLOSED."

About 400 CVS locations across the country have been damaged over the past several days. Most have since reopened.

In the Twin Cities area, six stores remained closed as of Thursday morning, but plans were to reopen them as quickly as possible, a company spokeswoman said.

The Mall of America, which postponed its Monday opening, has yet to announce its reopening date.

Several stores in the suburbs were returning to normal hours as curfews outside Minneapolis and St. Paul were lifted. Rosedale Center reopened Tuesday.