Hard Times Café
Encyclopedia
Hard Times Cafe is a collectively owned
restaurant in the Cedar-Riverside
neighborhood of Minneapolis
, Minnesota
that is cooperatively-owned
by its workers. It is known for its punk and hippie
ideology, its gritty ambiance, and its large selection of vegan and vegetarian food. It is open 22 hours a day, closing only between the hours of 4 am and 6 am.
neighborhood, and a popular hang out for local artists, musicians, students, and political activists.
Minneapolis Second Ward City Council Member Cam Gordon
holds open office hours in the cafe on the first Tuesday morning of each month.
Hard Times faced closing in January 2000, when several arrests were made as a result of a drug sting at the cafe. The owners closed its doors voluntarily in the aftermath, but faced problems with the city when attempting to reopen. The owners met all of the health and fire codes necessary to reopen, but refused to sign a contract obligating them to close at 2 am and hire a licensed security guard. A compromise was eventually made, with Hard Times closing its doors for two hours each night.
Hard Times closed for remodeling in August 2007, after a recommendation from a health inspector
that they update their ventilation system. The original plan was to be closed for a matter of weeks, but delays in shipping, unforeseen circumstances, and additional recommendations by the city kept the doors closed for three months beyond the intended opening date. The cafe received financial assistance from Seward Community Cafe
, a fellow Minneapolis worker cooperative. Hopeful patrons were informed of each successive delay by handwritten notes posted in the cafe windows. The cafe reopened at midnight December 16, 2007 with a new ventilation system and dozens of other recommended improvements.
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
restaurant in the Cedar-Riverside
Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis
The Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. The boundaries of the neighborhood are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interstate 35W to the west...
neighborhood of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
that is cooperatively-owned
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
by its workers. It is known for its punk and hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
ideology, its gritty ambiance, and its large selection of vegan and vegetarian food. It is open 22 hours a day, closing only between the hours of 4 am and 6 am.
History
Hard Times was founded as a 24-hour cafe in 1992 by eight employees of The Urban Peasant, another failing restaurant at that location. Working with the vision of a place where all kinds of people could come together to drink coffee and eat vegetarian food, they transformed the failing restaurant into what is now Hard Times. The location is a staple of the West BankCedar-Riverside, Minneapolis
The Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. The boundaries of the neighborhood are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interstate 35W to the west...
neighborhood, and a popular hang out for local artists, musicians, students, and political activists.
Minneapolis Second Ward City Council Member Cam Gordon
Cam Gordon
Cam Gordon is an American politician and member of the Green Party of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council....
holds open office hours in the cafe on the first Tuesday morning of each month.
Hard Times faced closing in January 2000, when several arrests were made as a result of a drug sting at the cafe. The owners closed its doors voluntarily in the aftermath, but faced problems with the city when attempting to reopen. The owners met all of the health and fire codes necessary to reopen, but refused to sign a contract obligating them to close at 2 am and hire a licensed security guard. A compromise was eventually made, with Hard Times closing its doors for two hours each night.
Hard Times closed for remodeling in August 2007, after a recommendation from a health inspector
Health inspector
A health inspector is a public employee who investigates health hazards in a wide variety of locations, then will take action to mitigate or eliminate the hazards...
that they update their ventilation system. The original plan was to be closed for a matter of weeks, but delays in shipping, unforeseen circumstances, and additional recommendations by the city kept the doors closed for three months beyond the intended opening date. The cafe received financial assistance from Seward Community Cafe
Seward Community Cafe
The Seward Community Cafe is a collectively-run cooperative restaurant in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, notable for being the oldest worker-run restaurant in the United States...
, a fellow Minneapolis worker cooperative. Hopeful patrons were informed of each successive delay by handwritten notes posted in the cafe windows. The cafe reopened at midnight December 16, 2007 with a new ventilation system and dozens of other recommended improvements.