Tuesday mornings at Modern Times are typically pretty laid-back. Maybe a handful of tables in the punky Minneapolis restaurant are occupied, but you should be able to walk right in, sit down, and order a coffee and a Chakra Khan scramble.
But on this Tuesday, by 11 a.m., every table in the place is full. There’s a waitlist 20 minutes long and growing.
Earlier this week, Modern Times owner Dylan Alverson made an announcement: Until ICE and its associated federal agencies leave the Twin Cities, Modern Times will be known as “Post Modern Times,” and will operate on a donation basis.
The restaurant, which earlier this month provided free hot meals to Minneapolitans in need and offered free drip coffee for everyone, is now free for all “with the exception of our occupiers,” an Instagram post from Alverson explained.
Here’s more from that post:
We are entering yet another week of this occupation with a deep sense of dread and mourning. We absolutely cannot go on as we have. I am sick of generating money for the soldiers in our streets and for a government that won't protect us - a government who is actively inflicting daily harm on its citizens.
Effective tomorrow we are done making money for the fascists that occupy our city. We refuse to generate taxes under the guise of a functioning for-profit capitalist business aligned with government strategy. Amidst many strategic pivots and determined leadership, Modern Times has been barely soluble since 2020. Therefore, for the remainder of the government occupation, we will function as a free and donation based restaurant, Post Modern Times. Everyone is welcome EXCEPT ICE.
Since Monday, the Chicago Avenue breakfast and lunch spot has been serving free meals to every patron who pops into the neon-green building. Servers and staffers will ask if you want to donate any money, but there’s no obligation. Folks can also donate to @moderntimescafe on Venmo or via Give MN.
Post Modern Times has the same hours (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily) and a slightly limited menu (which you can view on the second slide here), but otherwise things are pretty much the same—with the exception of the aforementioned wait. (“Holy shit,” I overheard one person remark Tuesday upon entering the building and seeing the uncharacteristically huge weekday crowd.)
“There’s been a lot of people coming in, a lot of people just wanting to donate,” says Post Modern Times staffer Dakota, in between adding people to the waitlist and taking takeout orders from behind the register. “I think it also feels good—there’s people that can’t help out by going out and protesting and putting their bodies in the way. People have families, people have things where they can’t risk it. I think this is a way people can help out, and feel like they’re doing something.”
Post Modern Times staffers have agreed to help out at the restaurant on a volunteer basis, working from shared tips and donations, according to this week’s Instagram post. So if ya go, ya know—maybe plan to bring a little cash anyway.
“Post Modern Times is a small stance amidst a gigantic fight that may shape the future of this country,” Alverson writes. “I am inspired by the ways our community has grown together, our hearts breaking open, to give and receive care in all the ways we can. May we continue to see each other in the streets.”
Post Modern Times
Address: 3200 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
