CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte Latin bakery known for championing immigrant causes says staff members confronted the former commander of U.S. Border Patrol in its parking lot Sunday.

“Manolo Betancur, owner of Manolo’s Bakery and longtime advocate for Charlotte’s immigrant community, confronted former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino at the bakery and refused to allow him inside,” the bakery, located in the 4400 block of Central Avenue, reported in a social media post.

Bovino was told “he was not welcome” inside the bakery or on its property, the Sunday Facebook post says.

The post was accompanied by photos and video of Bovino standing in the parking lot talking with someone. The person is also seen giving a thumbs-up sign to a photographer. He appeared to be preparing for an interview, according to Betancur.

Betancur told The Charlotte Observer in an interview Monday morning the encounter was the latest in a series of troubling incidents since his business was thrust into the spotlight during Border Patrol’s November operation in Charlotte.

“It’s kind of sad, kind of scary. I just want to serve bread, man. I want to serve cakes, and I just want to keep chasing the American dream,” he said. “I didn’t apply to be this face of this situation, and I keep asking God for wisdom with my words. You know, I don’t want to create more division, more hate. I don’t want to be part of the division. I want to be part of the solution.”

Bovino talked about the visit on his social media page Monday with a reference to past operations in Charlotte.

“We gave them hell here in this place and perhaps might again sometime. To my brothers and sisters in green - Ride Hard!!!” Bovino wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to a news article about Manolo’s.

Operation Charlotte’s Web

Bovino grew up in North Carolina and told The New York Times he was planning “a quiet retirement” in the state’s backcountry after leaving Border Patrol this year. Bovino, 55, had been with Border Patrol since in 1996, The Associated Press reported. His retirement came after he was removed from his role as CBP commander at-large.

Bovino’s time leading Border Patrol was marked by controversial operations in U.S. cities, including “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in and around Charlotte. More than 370 people were arrested during the operation, the Observer reported previously. People protested the agency’s deployment, and the city’s cultural corridor near Central Avenue saw many businesses close their doors temporarily. People avoided workplaces and students missed school.

Betancur has estimated his business suffered losses of between $50,000 and $64,000 following the immigration crackdown in Charlotte. The bakery, which first opened in 1997, continues to face hate and bad reviews after becoming a hub for Latino and Hispanic residents during Charlotte’s Web, he told the Observer on Monday. The building was egged in July, Betancur said.

“It has been a very tough year. You know, worse than the 2008 recession, worse than COVID,” Betancur said. “We haven’t been able to get back on track.”

Why was Gregory Bovino in east Charlotte?

Betancur saw Bovino on Sunday when the business owner arrived in his bakery’s parking lot, he said Monday. The former Border Patrol official was with another person and appeared to be setting up for an interview.

“I said, ‘Oh my God, Gregory Bovino is here.’ That was very scary. I started shaking, and I didn’t know what to do,” Betancur said.

Bovino told Observer news partner WSOC-TV he was in Charlotte to record a podcast and visit locations targeted during Charlotte’s Web. He recently posted on X about launching Facebook, YouTube and TikTok accounts.

Betancur said he spoke with Bovino for about 35 minutes about immigration and politics in the parking lot after telling Bovino he wasn’t welcome inside his bakery. Bovino claimed Betancur wasn’t allowing him in the bakery because Betancur was “hiding your illegals,” Betancur said.

“He kept saying that the best thing that ever happened to Charlotte was ‘Charlotte’s Web,’” Betancur said.

The experience left the business owner rattled.

“I didn’t sleep that much, and I keep shaking my head here and thinking, why me? You know, why this bakery?” he said.

Betancur said he’d like to see more support from local politicians and the business community.

“Show some humanity and show compassion towards us,” he said.

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