Store owners in Minneapolis are boarding up ahead of the Derek Chauvin murder-trial verdict, fearing unrest

• Businesses in Minneapolis are preparing for the Derek Chauvin murder-trial verdict.
• Fearing unrest, some restaurant and store owners are boarding up their premises.
• An owner of a dry cleaners told The New York Times he'd cleared out his store.

Stores and restaurants in Minneapolis are preparing for unrest as they await the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.

Chauvin, a 45-year-old former police officer, is accused of killing George Floyd in May 2020. Floyd died after Chauvin knelt on his body for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

The jury heard closing arguments of the trial on Monday. The verdict could arrive this week.

Floyd's death triggered months-long protests over racism and police brutality in the US and worldwide. Some stores, including in Minneapolis, were damaged or looted, and now some business owners in the city are preempting possible unrest after the Chauvin verdict by boarding up or emptying their stores.

The Wall Street Journal reported that some businesses, including a Target, were boarded up on downtown's Nicollet Mall. In a statement to Insider, Target said it's "closely monitoring the trial and any surrounding activity" in the area and has communicated about the trial to workers at the store.

The New York Times also reported that phone stores, furniture shops, restaurants including Quruxlow and Hook Fish & Chicken, and Mercado Central, a Latino market in the city, had been boarded up.

The Minneapolis City Hall has some windows on the ground and first floor levels that are boarded up as a precaution, according to a spokesperson from the City of Minneapolis. The building still remained open to the public and staff members, the spokesperson said.

An NPR reporter tweeted on Wednesday that Haskell's wine shop was also boarded up.

-Martin Kaste (@MartinKaste) April 14, 2021

Samir Patel, owner of dry-cleaning shop Elite Cleaners, told The Times on Monday that he'd moved customers' clothes to his home. He hadn't boarded up the shop, he said.

"We don't know what will happen," he added.

Read more: Chauvin trial is testing the stress levels of Black Americans. Here's what leaders and allies can do to help.

Patel said his shop suffered half a million dollars in damage in the civil unrest following Floyd's death. He had to exhaust his savings and retirement accounts to reopen the business, he said. The city looked like "a war zone" at the time, he added.

Doug Meyer, owner of Finer Meats & Eats in Minneapolis, told The Journal on Tuesday that he planned to keep watch outside of his store at night after the verdict.

"I hope I'm wrong," Meyer said. "I just got a feeling it's going to be really ugly for a week or two."

From Wednesday, schools in Minneapolis will switch to remote learning, and razor wire has been wrapped around police buildings. National Guard troops are already in some areas of downtown Minneapolis.

Insider has reached out to other businesses and retailers in Minneapolis to see how they're preparing.

Are you a business owner in Minneapolis? Get in touch with this reporter via Twitter, or email kduffy@insider.com.