Minneapolis Restaurant That Protested ICE Raids to Close

Modern Times Café, a Minneapolis restaurant that recently operated under a free and donation-based model in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, will close by the end of the year. Owner Dylan Alverson announced the closure on social media, stating he has "exhausted every option without compromising the core fundamentals that make Modern Times what it is."

Alverson plans to use the next two months to celebrate the 16-year-old establishment and discuss alternative models for businesses like his.

In January, the restaurant rebranded as Post Modern Times and adopted a policy of not serving ICE, partly in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Alverson stated at the time that the business would no longer generate money for "the soldiers in our streets and for a government that won't protect us."

The decision to operate without prices followed Pretti's fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents. Alverson had also cited concerns that ICE enforcement was "crippling businesses."

The restaurant initially operated without prices for about six months. After a brief closure in July, it reopened in August, returning to a pricing system but continuing to offer 25 free meals daily. By October, Alverson told The New York Times that the restaurant was operating at a "zero profit margin" and hoped to serve as a model for other establishments.

Alverson acknowledged that the free meal initiative led to long wait times for customers and raised concerns among neighbors about potential misuse by individuals experiencing homelessness or addiction. He indicated that the broader issue was the struggle faced by many independent restaurants.