MINNEAPOLIS, MN – A café-style eatery out of Minneapolis that reportedly rolled out a price-free business model in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city is reportedly shuttering after the fallout from the confounding approach to running a restaurant backfired.
After sixteen years in operation, the Modern Times Café, which briefly rebranded as the Post Modern Times Café in an exaggerated reaction to ICE operations in early 2026, is closing its doors after a protest-driven pivot in their business model seemingly failed to cover operating expenses.
According to the eatery’s website which detailed the overhaul in branding and business, it reads, “For 6 months starting February of 2026 out of protest, we operated as a donation-based restaurant without prices.”
Apparently the “donation-based restaurant” business model wasn’t the money and community support glitch the owners thought it would be, as the business did admit they had to reimplement their traditional menu with prices in order “to keep our staff paid livable wages and our community fed.”
But it would appear as though the redirecting toward a traditional business model this past August was too little, too late for the Modern Times Café, as the establishment shared an update on their official Facebook page earlier in October announcing that they’ll be closing up shop later in 2026.
“For the last 6 years, I’ve been trying to prove that Modern Times can continue to exist. I’ve exhausted every option without compromising the core fundamentals that make Modern Times what it is,” the post reads in part, adding, “Because of this, we have made the choice to close at the end of the year.”
The owner of the eatery, Dylan Alverson, further noted in the announcement that in the coming week he’ll “start to explain how we got to this point and what the next couple months will look like.”
However, it would seem little explanation is needed, as Alverson hinted in the same post that what likely upended the business was spending half a year operating as a ‘donation’ model and doling out free food, closing his statement with, “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 beginning of the end for the establishment is still alive and proverbially breathing on the eatery's Instagram page, where the establishment posted on January 26 a diatribe about how they despise ICE and that meals will be free moving forward in protest.
“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,” the post reads in part, noting they’ve endured financial struggles 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,” the January 26 post asserted, which in hindsight effectively cemented the business’ financial demise.
In a statement shared to Fox News by Alverson, he seemed to divert attention from what likely sunk his business and instead speculated, “I think a bigger question right now is how many independent restaurants are close to collapse?”
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