Minneapolis Restaurant Goes Free, Rebrands as ‘Post Modern Times’ Amid Federal Presence

A longtime Minneapolis restaurant near several sites of police and federal violence has stopped charging for food, rebranding itself as a donation-based community space in protest of ICE in the city.

MINNEAPOLIS —  Modern Times Cafe, located at 32nd Street and Chicago Avenue, announced that it will operate as a free restaurant for the duration of the federal occupation in Minneapolis. The restaurant is now temporarily calling itself Post Modern Times, a decision owner Dylan Alverson says was driven by the escalating violence federal agents have brought to the city.

“This restaurant is free for anyone. We stopped charging for food,” he said. “Anyone can come in and get a free meal if they need to.”

The cafe sits six blocks from George Floyd Square and several blocks from the sites where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal agents in the street. Dylan went to the scenes shortly after the shootings and witnessed confrontations between armed federal agents and community members.

“I witnessed hostile and aggressive armed goons sent by the federal government protecting each other from unarmed, outraged citizens,” Dylan wrote in a social media post. He said he was tear-gassed and struck by crowd-control munitions alongside neighbors.

In that post, Dylan said the restaurant would no longer operate as a for-profit business “under the guise of a functioning capitalist structure aligned with government strategy,” adding that he did not want to generate tax revenue while federal forces remained in the city.

On the first day as Post Modern Times, both sides of the restaurant were filled with community.

Under the new model, meals are free, with donations accepted from customers who are able to give. Staff members agreed to work on a volunteer basis, sharing tips and community donations. The restaurant’s hours will remain the same, though the menu has been reduced.

“If people don’t need a free meal and want to come, they can pay for food or give more money so that another person can eat,” Alverson said. “That’s our baseline.”

Dylan described the shift as a form of strike — not a closure, but a refusal to operate normally.

“It’s our way of a strike while still being able to support the neighborhood and people, especially hungry people,” he said. “Come and get a free meal. That’s something that we can do for comfort.”

The name Post Modern Times reflects both the restaurant’s history and what he described as a turning point for the city.

“It’s been kind of a joke here for 15 years, what ‘Post Modern Times’ is,” Dylan said. “But after being out on Nicollet and feeling like we’re in wartime — seeing someone get executed on the street and soldiers here afterwards — I said, ‘This is it. This is Post Modern Times.’”

In his social media post, Dylan emphasized that the restaurant is open to everyone except federal immigration enforcement officers. The sign on the front door also makes that clear.

Dylan praised neighborhood residents for organizing mutual aid, block patrols, and community safety efforts.

“Block by block, people are doing what ICE supposedly is here doing — protecting our citizens,” he said. “People are showing that we can protect ourselves.”

Dylan says the restaurant plans to continue operating this way until federal agents leave the city, though he acknowledged the future remains uncertain.

“This is a small stance amidst a gigantic fight,” he wrote. “But it’s what we can do.”

Community members that want to help can make a donation via Venmo.