CAMBRIDGE — A Central Square restaurant was forced to gut its menu and scramble to stay open after federal immigration agents detained four cooks — including one who had worked in the kitchen for more than two decades.

The business owner, who declined to be named to protect staff, said the loss of the workers “destroyed” the operation. Two of the cooks had been with the restaurant for 22 and 16 years, respectively. The others had worked there for several years. Within days, the kitchen’s once-extensive menu was cut back to just burgers, wings, fries, and drinks.

The incident occurred six weeks ago, but the fallout continues.

Two of the men are now being held in a Louisiana detention center. One of them, a Colombian national, had been planning to fly to Spain three days later to reunite with his wife and two children. After being detained, he signed paperwork to expedite his deportation. The restaurant sent his passport to the detention center in an effort to help — but he remains in custody. The owner described the facility’s conditions as “terrible,” saying the men were held in a cell with 48 others and no air conditioning.

The facility where the men are being held is the same one that drew national attention earlier this year after it held Tufts and Columbia graduate students involved in protests over the war in Gaza. But for the Central Square restaurant, the fallout was far more immediate. Without its core kitchen staff, the business had to cut offerings and limit operations.

Cambridge is one of several so-called sanctuary cities across Massachusetts, where officials have pledged non-cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Despite this, ICE operations have quietly continued — and under the return of immigration hardliner Tom Homan to national prominence, enforcement efforts have intensified.

Homan has promised to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions, calling them “magnets for illegal immigration.” His return comes as cities like Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville face growing strain from the ongoing migrant crisis — a crisis that’s already cost the state billions under Democratic Governor Maura Healey, who declared a state of emergency in 2023 as shelters overflowed.

But while headlines focus on shelters and spending, the enforcement side of the story rarely makes front pages. In Central Square, the impact was felt not in speeches or slogans — but in silence. One week the restaurant was fully staffed. The next, the kitchen was broken.

The restaurant remains open. The staff is rebuilding. But four of its longtime cooks are gone — and no one knows when, or if, they’re coming back.