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Minneapolis restaurant that offered free meals to protest ICE raids announces closure
New York Post • • business
Key Points:
- Modern Times Café in Minneapolis, known for its experiment with eliminating prices, announced it will close permanently by the end of the year after six years of trying to sustain the business model.
- Owner Dylan Alverson shifted the restaurant to a free and donation-based model in January, partly as a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
- The café operated without prices for about six months but resumed charging prices in August while continuing to offer 25 free meals daily, aiming for a zero profit margin as a potential model for other restaurants.
- Alverson cited challenges including long wait times, staff strain, and community concerns about misuse of free meals, and emphasized the broader issue of many independent restaurants facing collapse.
- He plans to spend the remaining months celebrating the 16-year-old business and exploring ways to support similar ventures in the future.
