I couldn't make my restaurant's numbers work. So I took prices off the menu.
ByKatherine Tangalakis-Lippert
You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Follow
The Post Modern Times uses work from local artists on its merch.Dylan Alverson
Jul 12, 2026, 4:01 AM ET
SaveSaved
4 min
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 coaststo 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. I worked everywhere from casual diners to acclaimed restaurants, never thinking I'd eventually own one.
That changed after I worked at a worker-owned restaurant in Minneapolis. Because everyone shared responsibility, I learned every side of the business. I started thinking, "If I ever opened my own place, here's what I'd do differently."
At 24, I moved to Seattle and, with a business partner, scraped together about $12,000 to open a café. I was living in the restaurant's storage room when I found out I was about to become a father.
Eventually, I realized I couldn't run the restaurant and be the kind of parent I wanted to be. I left.
Explore BI Games \
\
Take a smarter break in your day - and see how far you get.\
\
Play now\
\
A few years later, while working at a struggling bicycle shop, the owner offered to sell me the business for $1. It was easier to offload it at a loss than try to sell it. I turned it around during the recession, sold it a few years later, and moved back to Minneapolis.
Almost immediately, I stumbled upon the space that would become Modern Times. I signed the lease the same day.
From the beginning, I wanted it to reflect the neighborhood. I wrote all the recipes, sourced local food, turned part of the building into artist studios, and tried to create what people now call a " third place" — somewhere neighbors could gather, not just eat.
Diners at the Post Modern Times restaurant enjoy hot, home-cooked meals at pay-what-you-can prices.
Dylan Alverson
The restaurant grew steadily. By the year before this latest transition, annual sales had reached about $1.3 million.
Then everything changed.
The pandemic, inflation, and rising labor costs completely rewrote the economics of running an independent restaurant. Even though we were busy, I couldn't find a sustainable profit margin. I was working 7 shifts a week, fixing equipment myself, carrying flour up the stairs until I developed hip problems, and sometimes borrowing money to make payroll.
I wasn't the only one. Every restaurant owner I talked to was dealing with the same math.
Late last year, after federal immigration raids shook our neighborhood, we started offering free meals with help from a local grant. I noticed something immediately: People who needed food often wouldn't ask for it.
Then Alex Pretti, our neighbor, was killed during an immigration operation. Our community was reeling, and everyone was angry, so we took prices off the menu as part of a tax strike — we weren't charging for meals and therefore weren't generating sales tax.
It was a way to fight back and also provide comfort to our neighborhood, so anyone could get a hot meal if they needed one.
After seeing the spark of hope that change caused, we haven't gone back. People can now pay whatever they can afford. Or nothing at all.
The response surprised me
Supporters donated about half a million dollars over the winter after our story spread online. Four months later, we're still operating without menu prices.
We're serving about 155 meals a day. Around 90% of those meals aren't accompanied by a donation.
We're not trying to maximize profits anymore. We're trying to build a restaurant that's financially sustainable, pays staff a living wage, and ensures anyone in the neighborhood can eat.
Ironically, we're in a better financial position than we were before.
For the first time in years, I've been able to pay myself about $50,000 annually, and we're paying employees $25 an hour, with the goal of reaching $30 an hour.
We're still figuring it out. We've added guidelines to ensure the space remains welcoming for everyone, and we're constantly adjusting how we distribute meals to serve as many people as possible.
I don't pretend this is a finished model, but I do think restaurant owners need to stop pretending everything is fine.
Small business owners carry a lot of shame when things aren't working. I think we need to be more honest with each other. The traditional model isn't working for a lot of independent restaurants anymore.
If we want neighborhood businesses to survive, we have to be willing to imagine something different. And if we figure it out, I don't want to keep it to myself. I'd give the model away. That's the whole point.
Read comments
Read next
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Follow
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert is a senior reporter on Business Insider's West Coast team. When she's not writing about trending business and tech news, from the latest supply chain snarls or advancements in AI, she covers the food and restaurant industries, specifically companies such as Starbucks and McDonald's.Some of her prior areas of focus have included coverage of the Supreme Court and emerging technologies such as quantum computing.Katherine has worked on award-nominated projects and has appeared on Good Morning America, NBC, CNN, and other outlets to discuss her reporting.Prior to joining Business Insider, she covered retail, hospitality, and nonprofits at the San Fernando Valley Business Journal and received a master's degree in investigative reporting from the University of Southern California.Reach outDo you have feedback or a story tip? Contact Katherine on Signal at byktl.50, or email her at ktl@businessinsider.com.Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @scrawlgirl.Some of her recent scoops, exclusives, and original stories include: Starbucks set up a new office. It's a 5-minute drive from the CEO's California home.Inside Starbucks' crackdown on cup notesEndless Shrimp was Red Lobster's rock bottom. Now it's clawing back.Chipotle's new PAC signals a change in how the company engages in politicsKFC lost its footing in the Chicken Wars. Now it's gunning for a 'Kentucky Fried Comeback.'A few other highlights include: Clarence Thomas raised him 'as a son.' Now he's facing 25-plus years on weapons and drug charges.Call her Ivanka Kushner'Maybe I'll just resign:' Federal workers react to DOGE productivity emailSpaceX launches cause late-night booms that rattle windows, set off car alarms, and may damage property. Locals are pushing back.The US-China tech race is moving from chips to the raw materials they're made of
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Log in.
Jump to
Something went wrong, please try again.
Follow Following
Every time publishes a story, you’ll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Look out for an alert in your inbox the next time publishes a story!
Every time a new story is published, you’ll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Look out for an alert in your inbox the next time a new story is published!
Enter your email
Sign up
By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
More stories by More stories from
Read Original at Business Insider →