I couldn't make my restaurant's numbers work. So I took prices off the menu.
A Minneapolis restaurant owner has transitioned his business to a pay-what-you-can model to ensure financial sustainability and fair wages for staff. The shift reflects the owner's long-term experience in the industry and his desire to create a community-focused establishment.
Why it matters
This model challenges traditional restaurant pricing structures and highlights alternative approaches to labor and community engagement in the food industry.
The Post Modern Times uses work from local artists on its merch. Dylan Alverson Dylan Alverson transformed his Minneapolis eatery into a pay-what-you-can restaurant model. Post Modern Times serves 155 meals daily, 90% of which are served without a donation. Alverson said business is better now, and donations allow staff to earn at least $25 an hour. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dylan Alverson, 45, who owns Post Modern Times, a pay-what-you-can restaurant in Minneapolis. It has been edited for length and clarity. I started working in restaurants when I was 14 in northern Wisconsin. My parents had moved there from the coasts to live on a self-sustaining property , so I grew up raising food, helping my mom cook, and developing an appreciation for ingredients long before I thought about restaurants as a career. For years, cooking was what allowed me to travel.
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