Modern Times Café, which offered free meals and relied on donations in protest of federal immigration enforcement, will close by the end of 2026 after its owner acknowledged that efforts to sustain the business had failed.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A Minneapolis restaurant that eliminated menu prices and began giving away meals to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations has announced it will permanently close by the end of the year, following months of financial difficulties and unsuccessful efforts to maintain its unconventional business model.
Modern Times Café owner Dylan Alverson announced the closure Saturday, Oct. 17, ending nearly 16 years of operations at the restaurant near Chicago Avenue and East 32nd Street in south Minneapolis.
“For the last six years, I’ve been trying to prove that Modern Times can continue to exist,” Alverson wrote on social media. “I’ve exhausted every option without compromising the core fundamentals that make Modern Times what it is.”
According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, the restaurant had struggled financially even after restoring menu prices earlier this year.
The closure follows an experiment that attracted national attention when Alverson removed prices from the restaurant’s menu in January as federal immigration enforcement operations intensified across Minnesota.
The restaurant temporarily changed its name to Post Modern Times and adopted a donation-based system under which customers could receive meals regardless of their ability to pay.
Alverson described the decision as a protest against Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement initiative in the Minneapolis area.
He said the restaurant would welcome everyone except federal immigration agents, arguing that eliminating food sales would prevent the business from generating sales tax revenue for government authorities.
As Minnesota Public Radio reported in January, the establishment initially operated entirely on donations while continuing to compensate employees.
“We just don’t want to contribute to the armed occupation in our neighborhood,” Alverson said at the time.
The decision followed the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during separate encounters involving federal immigration officers, incidents that generated protests and criticism of immigration enforcement tactics.
Alverson said his goal was to provide food and support to residents during a period of heightened tension.
“I guess I was gambling on humanity. I was trying to do something good and betting that people are better than what people think right now,” he previously told FOX 9 Minneapolis.
The restaurant’s approach initially attracted substantial financial support.
Donations reportedly reached approximately $500,000 as the establishment gained attention beyond Minnesota. The business continued serving meals without fixed prices for approximately six months.
However, the model eventually encountered operational problems, including declining donations, substantial demand for free meals and concerns among nearby residents about crowds gathering around the restaurant.
A July investigation by the Star Tribune described growing neighborhood complaints about disruptive behavior and the difficulties of maintaining unrestricted food service.
The restaurant also struggled with employee exhaustion and long customer wait times as demand increased.
By late July, Alverson temporarily closed the establishment to reconsider its operations and develop a more sustainable approach.
According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the business began restructuring its donation-supported model after several months of operating without conventional prices.
The restaurant subsequently reopened with menu prices while continuing to provide a limited number of free meals each day.
Despite those adjustments, the financial pressures persisted.
In announcing the permanent closure, Alverson said the remaining weeks would provide an opportunity to recognize the restaurant’s history and discuss the future of community-oriented dining establishments.
“I announce this decision now, with the hope that we can spend the next two plus months celebrating the nearly 16 years that Modern Times has stood for creativity over cost, kindness over profit, and uncompromising values as a business in this country,” he wrote.
“The only way for places like Modern Times to exist in the future is to actively challenge the reasons why it can no longer exist.”
The restaurant’s closure has renewed discussion about the financial challenges facing independent businesses, particularly those attempting to operate outside conventional pricing structures.
While the donation-based experiment initially generated substantial contributions and allowed thousands of meals to be distributed, its long-term financial sustainability remained uncertain.
The restaurant had also faced difficulties before eliminating prices, including rising operating expenses and the lingering financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alverson has not attributed the closure exclusively to the free-meal experiment.
Modern Times Café is expected to remain open through the final weeks of 2026 before permanently ending operations, concluding a nearly 16-year presence in south Minneapolis.
Original article
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