Target CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer, which calls Minneapolis its home, hopes to reopen its heavily damaged Lake Street store before the end of this year.

That store, which has been a fixture in that neighborhood since 1976, is across the street from the epicenter of many of the protests and was one of the first to be looted and damaged.

Cornell said the company hasn't yet been able to safely send teams in to inspect the store during what he called a painful and heartbreaking week.

"It's just so hard to tell until you get the team inside and really understand the extent of the damages," he told the Star Tribune. "But we'll do our very best to get the store back up and running as soon as we can, hopefully by the end of the year."

The store's 200 employees will be paid for at least two weeks and will be able to transfer to other locations.

In addition to the Target store, a Cub Foods and Aldi store that were key sources of groceries for the neighborhood have also been damaged and remain closed.

In the interim, Target is working with local nonprofits to provide first aid equipment, medicine, bottled water, baby formula, diapers and other essentials for the community.

Target said it will also rebuild other stores that suffered less damage, such as its store in Uptown, in the coming weeks.

It has closed more than 20 stores through at least Saturday to ensure the safety of employees and customers as community unrest continues.

Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113