Chef Anne Kim’s eponymous restaurant in Uptown Minneapolis Kim’sAccording to a statement from Kim’s Restaurant Group, the restaurant will close on Friday, August 30, “due to ongoing financial losses.” Vestaria HospitalityKim declined to comment further on the reasons for the closure.
The restaurant opened last fall in the space where Kim previously ran Suki & Mimi, a restaurant specializing in Mexican and Korean-inspired cuisine. Kim’s place has served as a canvas for his exploration of Korean American cuisine, reflecting his family’s Korean roots and upbringing in Apple Valley, Minnesota. The restaurant opened with a menu that included bindaetteok (savory mung bean pancakes), bibimbap, hand-made “Spam” sandwiches and fluffy egg soufflé.
On May 28, Kim’s employees announced their intention to unionize. Let’s Unite Local 17Initially, their main focus was to come to the negotiating table, eventually outlining goals around improved benefits, pay and stability. One major focus was achieving a more consistent schedule. “This is about making sure our voice is protected and we can demand what we need to live full, fulfilling lives while still playing a vital role in the restaurant,” bar leader Iain Knopp-Schwyn said at the time. “We want the restaurant to succeed. We want all of us to succeed.”
Vestaria did not voluntarily recognize the union. Kim made her first public statement about the union push on June 9, posting on Instagram that she “strongly agrees.”[s] Everyone should have a voice and a vote,” but added that Kim’s team felt they could “come together” without a union. (The post has since been deleted.) Later that month, food blogger Joe Rosenthal He appeared to post internal messages from Kim, her partner Konrad Leifer, and the restaurant’s managers. Try to convince staff to vote against unionizing(Rosenthal’s original post is currently in progress Photo copyright dispute and Star Tribune.
On June 27, Kim’s employees successfully organized a union. 65% voted in favor. Employees were informed of the restaurant’s closure on Thursday, August 22. Unite Here Local 17 Shared messages from workers “Our hearts are breaking because we care about our neighbors, our customers and each other,” they wrote on Instagram. “We are organizing because we know restaurant workers deserve to be respected and go to work with their heads held high every day.”
In a statement, the workers said they plan to demand severance pay, health insurance, call-back rights (essentially the right of workers to be rehired if the business reopens and jobs become available again) and “rights to relocation.” Unite Here Local 17 did not respond to requests for an interview.
Business closures Frequently Recognized As a way to crush labor unions Intention can be difficult to determine And what ultimately led to the closure? For example, the National Labor Relations Board I ordered Starbucks To Reopening of multiple stores It was allegedly closed due to union activity.
The local service industry labor movement has gained significant momentum in recent years, with unionization efforts taking place in various locations across the Twin Cities from 2020 to the present. Breweries, Distillery, Coffee Shopand food and beverage businesses, and locally Starbucks unionization waveKim’s was the first restaurant in the series, but was soon followed by fellow members Colita and Cafe Ceres, the latter of which is Recently won union elections; The election results are still undecided In the former case.
