Who owns Cup Foods? Minneapolis convenience store that reported George Floyd live-streams Derek Chauvin trial
Cup Foods, the convenience store in Minneapolis, where George Floyd used a counterfeit bill and was reported, live-streamed Derek Chauvin's murder trial. Christopher Martin, a former employee of Cup Foods took to the witness stand to testify about how Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. His co-worker called the police on May 25, 2020, which led to the subsequent events following up to Floyd's murder.
Cup Food owner Mike Abumayyaleh, who owns the store with his brother, said he had not seen the footage before the trial. "This is the first time I've seen this footage — it was seized the morning after," he explained. "We'd like to know the outcome," he said but did not mention what he hoped it would be. However, he added that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension "asked us not to comment until after the trial is over".
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Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, who goes by Mike, runs his family-owned store, Cup Foods, on the corner of 38th and Chicago Avenue. The store has been in his family for 30 years.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the prosecution released exclusive, never-seen-before video footage from inside the store on that fateful day. Martin, the employee who accepted the counterfeit bill before realizing it was fake, walked the court through the events of that day, describing it in detail. He mentioned how Floyd appeared to be "high" and "struggled" to make conversation. As the video footage played in court, Floyd is seen walking through the store. He was seen rummaging through his pockets and counting his money and was even spotted talking to himself and customers. He exists the store briefly while knocking a piece of fruit to the ground. He returned to the store again, seemingly high and distracted. This unusual behavior was followed by him putting his arms over his head and shaking in his spot. A restless Floyd then made his way to the counter, where he purchased a packet of cigarettes using a $20 bill. Martin told the court that he examined the bill when Floyd felt, seeing that it had 'blue pigment' and he "assumed it was fake". Martin also told the court that "this could've been avoided", stating that had he not raised an alarm, Floyd would've still been alive.
As reported by NBC News, an employee of Cup Foods called Abumayyaleh, when she saw the events leading up to the murder unfold. He said that the employee called him while "crying, telling me 'Mike, Mike. What should I do? The guy can't breathe. They're killing him.'" Abumayyaleh narrated his response – "I said, 'Call the police on the police. And make sure it's recorded.' And she did that." Although he was not present at work that day, Abumayyaleh said that Floyd was a regular at the store and there was never an issue with him in the past. He remembers Floyd as a pleasant person and also added that he "may not have even known that the bill was counterfeit."