His Memphis store was damaged by Sunday protests. Wednesday, he offered protesters a free drink.

Sunday night, as protesters marched against police brutality in downtown Memphis, a handful of people rushed the Downtown Express at Poplar and N. Lauderdale Street, cracking a window and stealing some food and drinks.

Police in riot gear and protesters quickly arrived to stop the damage.

A few evenings later, on Wednesday, protesters were back at the Downtown Express, this time invited by owner Aman Devji.

Devji had invited them into the store as they marched by, telling protesters they could have any drink or snack — for free.

If the entire store had been ransacked the other night, he’d still support the protest, he said.

"I wouldn't be here if they (black people) did not sacrifice in the past," said Devji, who is an immigrant from Pakistan. "Because of them, I'm here. I’m here for the last 25 years and I’ve seen all the time brutality, all of this. I’m against all war. This killing should've stopped. We all should live in peace, but unfortunately, we don’t.”

Protesters Wednesday thanked Devji as they trickled into the store, some using the restroom or taking a bottle of Gatorade. Most waited outside. 

Afterward, Devji and his 6-year-old son, Qahir, rushed to catch up with the protesters, marching with them back to the National Civil Rights Museum. Devji's 16-year-old daughter Sara and her friend Azucena Gonzalez were already at the march. 

As for the minor damage done to the store on the previous evening, "It's alright," Devji said. 

"I don't feel bad, because every single time, peace is not easy," he said. "If you look in the past, Martin Luther King was a peaceful person, but they killed him. Riots happen. Nelson Mandela. Riots happen. If you take the history of America, riots happen. Every time there was a war for peace, riots happen. I feel sorry. I understand that some people feel like they have to loot the places. I don’t blame them, because that’s how they have their frustration and they can be heard. There’s no other way they can be heard. If NFL guy, he kneel down, people say bad thing about him.”

The protests in Memphis have resulted in very little property damage, unlike some other cities around the country. The damage to Devji's store was minor, and it wasn't clear whether the people who caused it had been with the group of protesters earlier, although they burst into the store as that group marched by Sunday night. Organizers of protests have consistently spoken out against causing any damage. 

So far, protesters have taken to the streets in Memphis for seven consecutive nights to oppose police brutality and to speak out against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a white man, pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed face down in the street. 

Devji said he has lived in Memphis for 10 years, but that he was born and raised in Pakistan. If it weren't for African Americans, he wouldn't be living in the United States today, he said.

“They (black people) have sacrificed the most," Devji said. "I see that. It’s always the case that they’ve been discriminated. I understand all life matters, I believe that, but this is an ongoing issue with only this community, and that is disheartening.”

Katherine Burgess covers county government, religion and the suburbs. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.