Manolo’s Bakery at center of Charlotte Border Patrol protests lands documentary
Swing by Manolo’s Latin Bakery on Central Avenue, and you can’t help but notice the contrasts. Inside, the sweet aroma of handmade baked goods fills the air, with one corner of the shop displaying hats and T-shirts bearing the slogan “Made in Charlotte by Immigrant Hands.”
But outside are stark reminders that this space and community felt under attack in the wake of Border Patrol activity in Charlotte last November. Signs like “ICE GET OUT,” “Private Property No ICE or CPB Access” and declarations of constitutional rights “which apply to everyone in this country regardless of immigration status” fill the storefront window.
And yet, both within and outside the store, the American flag is prominently displayed.
The pursuit of the American dream and bakery owner Manuel “Manolo” Betancur’s role as a community advocate in the face of a broken immigration system — things that you feel viscerally at the bakery — are the subject of a new, award-winning documentary short film called “The Changebaker.”
The 16-minute film about the Colombian native and U.S. citizen will make its Charlotte premiere Jan. 17 at the historic Carolina Theatre. The event will include dance and musical performances by local artists, along with a conversation with Betancur and the film’s director, Courtney Dixon.
The film was completed before U.S. Customs and Border Protection came to Charlotte and arrested more than 425 people during the sweep, which began Nov. 15. But the documentary remains more timely than ever, Betancur told The Charlotte Observer.
He and his business were thrust into the national spotlight when the bakery became the epicenter of community resistance to the massive immigration raids. Worried for the safety of his customers and staff, Betancur closed the bakery for the first time in its history.
He had grown up amid war in Colombia and made several humanitarian trips in wartime to Ukraine.
But Betancur said he never has been as scared as he was this fall watching people walking down the street near his store, being thrown to the ground and handcuffed.
“The amount of inhumanity and cruelty, this darkness came to Central Avenue and ... to Charlotte” in November, he said.
But spontaneous demonstrations of support for the immigrant community soon took place outside the bakery. Betancur spoke of “all the light that came to us, and all this love and all this hope... So this is going to be the perfect time (for) this film to be seen.”
Manolo’s Bakery in the community
Known for its artisan breads, cakes and Latin American pastries, Betancur’s bakery has become an important cultural landmark in Charlotte during its 28 years in operation.
The business, which he purchased from his former in-laws in 2011, has thrived under his leadership. But Betancur is more than a successful entrepreneur. For years, he has dedicated himself to supporting community and humanitarian causes.
During COVID, Betancur gave away more than 5,000 birthday cakes to local families that could not afford them. He and staff also helped deliver 52,000 meals in 2020, in collaboration with World Central Kitchen, to people in need around Charlotte.
In the last few years, Betancur made three humanitarian trips to Bucha, Ukraine and raised funds for several initiatives with the support of the Charlotte community, including Myers Park United Methodist Church.
The projects included restoring two bread ovens at a bakery destroyed by Russian warfare, and purchasing a delivery van so that bread could reach more people.
Closer to home, Betancur has partnered with dozens of nonprofits and recently founded his own, By Immigrant Hands.
He has received local and international recognition for his philanthropic and humanitarian efforts, including the World Bread Hero USA award in 2021. It was news of that award, which brought him to the attention of Dixon, the film’s director.
In 2022, she contacted Betancur about the possibility of making a documentary about his story.
About ‘The Changebaker’ documentary
“The Changebaker” had its world premiere at the 2025 Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado last May, where it won the Moving Mountains Award. That honor goes to a documentary focused on social impact and awards money to both the filmmaker and the film’s associated nonprofit.
Since then, the film has won awards at multiple festivals across the country, and screened in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
It traces Betancur’s journey from war-torn Colombia to Charlotte in pursuit of the American dream.
It also delves into his role as a community advocate, and homes in on what happened when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials came to the bakery, during the first presidency of Donald Trump, and took one of his employees in error.
But it ends with a message of hope, Betancur said.
Capturing ‘the essence of Manolo’
The Charlotte premiere is being presented by the Foundation For The Carolinas - Robinson Center for Civic Leadership, Manolo’s Bakery, the Carolina Theatre and Cine Casual, which presents the Charlotte Latino Film Festival.
“I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised and impressed by how much they’re going to feel in 16 minutes. How the filmmaker was able to capture the essence of Manolo and what he’s done for Charlotte,” said Cine Casual co-founder Giovanna Torres.
The topic is heavy, she added, but the event itself will be upbeat.
Performances by the dance group El Alma de la Luna and a musical performance by ÚltimaNota will precede the screening. One of that band’s signature songs, “Mi Sueño,” focuses on the contributions of local immigrants to the community, including those of Betancur.
Torres said Betancur is the type of person who puts “the wellbeing of his family and his friends and his community before anything else.”
Cine Casual has partnered with Betancur and his bakery since its first film event in early 2020. The bakery often provides in kind support through its side catering business.
But Betancur has helped them at unexpected moments, too, like the time a caterer dropped out last minute before an event. Torres said her first thought was to call Betancur.
Before she’d even finished explaining, he’d said yes and started asking where, when and what quantities were needed.
“It’s tough because he’s operating a small immigrant-owned business,“ Torres said, “and they need to make revenue, they need to make ends meet … But his way of doing business is always so selfless.
“It’s so important especially for our Latino community in Charlotte to have those type of role models.”
A sweet film premiere for the Charlotte bakery
For Betancur, the Charlotte premiere will be especially sweet. His mother and brothers are flying in from Colombia, and he’ll have friends and mentors in the audience too.
Being invited to have the film screened at the nearly century-old Carolina Theatre is also meaningful, he said.
Just thinking about having this film play in the same place where one of his idols, Elvis Presley performed, was thrilling. But the theater’s history as a former segregated space is also significant.
“And now we, the immigrants of this nation, we are going through (something) very similar to what our Black brothers went through with segregation,” Betancur said. “Knowing that my film, an immigrant film, is going to be played there, brought tears to my eyes and the director’s.”
Betancur’s hopes for the film
As excited as Betancur is about the film’s local premiere and at the many festivals where it has been warmly received, he also wants it to be seen by people who don’t like immigrants.
“It’s too easy to be in a place where everybody loves you,” Betancur said.
Most important, he wants people and especially elected leaders to understand that nobody wants to be illegal. And immigrants also want safe borders that keep criminals out, he said.
When Betancur receives hate messages, as he recently did after the immigration crackdown in Charlotte, people often reference support for immigration only when it’s done “the legal way.”
But they don’t understand how broken the system is, he said.
“It hasn’t been changed in 40 years,” Betancur said. “The only thing people around the world (have) is just if you’re lucky enough and have a good bank account, you can go to an American embassy after two years of waiting and apply for a tourist visa. That’s it.”
‘America would collapse without immigrants’
Like many immigrant-owned shops, Manolo’s Latin Bakery suffered because of the November Border Patrol raids. The bakery lost $65,000 the week that Border Protection agents arrived, Betancur said. Sales continue to be down.
Many immigrant customers haven’t returned, while five former employees, despite having working papers, left Charlotte permanently out of fear. Betancur now also carries his American passport with him at all times.
Betancur said he and his bakery are still here only because of “all the good people of Charlotte.”
But he knows there are many Charlotteans who have lived here for decades and never have ventured over to Central Avenue. In their eyes, Charlotte is perfect, he said, as long as they stay in their own neighborhoods and don’t have to mix with people of other backgrounds.
“But guess what, man, somebody has to cook for them, somebody has to clean for them, somebody needs to take care of their houses, somebody has to build their houses,” Betancur said. “And that job is being done by immigrant hands … America would collapse without immigrants.”
A new venture for Betancur and Manolo’s Bakery
Tickets to the film are selling quickly. But for those unable to attend, they can still get a taste of “The Changebaker.”
With the director’s permission, that name will also grace Betancur’s newest venture — a café with gelato and pastries. The shop is housed in a former beauty salon, steps from the bakery. It will open Jan. 17, the same day as the Charlotte premiere of the film.
“I arrived here chasing the American Dream,” Betancur said from within the new café. “I want to prove that the American Dream still exists, is still alive.”
Want to go?
What: ‘The Changebaker’
Where: Carolina Theatre, 230 N. Tryon St., Charlotte
When: Jan. 17, 7 p.m.
For tickets: thecarolina.com
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This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 6:00 AM.