Nothing is quite as it used to be along Nicollet Avenue.

The spot where Alex Pretti was gunned down by federal agents has been cordoned off by orange stakes and caution tape, appearing like a giant gash along the block between 26th and 27th streets.

“It’s almost like a loss of innocence for a part of the neighborhood that was just pure joy before,” said Aldona Martinka, a healthcare worker who has lived in the area for more than a decade.

The Jamaican restaurant and the thrift store along this stretch of Minneapolis’s Whittier neighborhood have transformed into community gathering spaces, open to mourners who have come from near and far. All along the corridor, also known as “Eat Street” due to the preponderance of restaurants and bars featuring global cuisines, restaurants are offering free food and handwarmers.

Each day, neighbors have come to Pretti’s memorial to refresh the flowers, re-arrange the handwritten cards and messages, and sprinkle salt along its edges to prevent the pavement from icing over.