Photograph by Caitlin Abrams
George Floyd on Pie & Mighty
This week was a little hard, right? What with a murder, all the strife, the Blackhawks, the covert incendiary device egg hunts, cops arresting journalists, plateless cars screaming through stop signs, trucks nearly plowing down people on a bridge, and then suddenly in the middle of it all: pandemic patio season!
How are we supposed to talk about patio season?
How are restaurants, many of whom are on their last legs, supposed to talk about patio season?
Because by now you might have seen that viral photo of some fresh looking white kids brunching on a makeshift street patio, while a Black Lives Matter protest for George Floyd marches by. The equation is: some people fight for black lives, some people fight for brunch. Which of course also inversely recalls the softly met protests of the former week. When white militia freedom fighters got their undies in a bundle over not being able to get haircuts, they thusly stormed the Michigan government. No tear gas, no prob.
Right, so who wants to step up and talk about brunch! And let's be clear, while the majority of our restaurants in the city shut down in solidarity for the protests (or due to curfew or damages), the ones in the suburbs did not. Their June 1 came and many patios were packed. And really, good for them. Because they hadn't served a table of guests for nearly three months.
And yet, I struggled. It felt weird. I kept thinking of the places that could barely afford the plywood they scrounged to board up windows they couldn't afford to replace. I thought of the restaurants who found gas cans behind their buildings and how it took everything they had to just stand watch through obviously sleepless nights. And of course, I thought of a man's senseless murder at the hands of the very people we look to for protection, and the magnitude of loss and grief in this community made the thought of sitting down to a plate of fried calamari less thrilling than the week before.
But if there's one thing I know, it's that we need them. We need restaurants, and right now that means we need takeout and patios. And there were two things that reminded me of this.
The first was a message from a woman late on June 2. She asked where my patio list was. I replied, with I'm sure a very crispy tone, that I hadn't compiled one yet and that everything was changing every day anyway and how could I? She basically said: We live between the 5th and 3rd precinct, we have a new baby and it's been a really hard and fearful few days. We thought if we could just slip out somewhere before curfew and grab an hour on a patio, where someone cooked us food and brought us a drink, we might feel human again.
That's choosing humanity over fear, I feel like that is part of what this fight is for.
The second came yesterday, during George Floyd's memorial service, as his siblings recalled him eating banana-mayo sandwiches as a kid (we might have to revisit that later). They said their mom's house was always full, people were always coming by, gathering to see each other and sit down to eat. It was a joy-filled place. That feeling for me comes in a restaurant, when I have my best girls around me, jammed into a corner booth, with time and laughter and gut space our only metrics.
It made me remember how much I've been missing restaurants, and how they give us space to build our communities: within and without. And we are going to need space to build our communities, as we go forth together, because the work is not done just because the patios open.
Why we need restaurants
+ Pig Ate My Pizza wants people to start their day right. They’ve created a Breakfast for Families donation to Near and Prism Food Shelf, serving North Mpls. Buy some of their Bloody Mary Mix or the freshly brewed Compassionfuit Kölsch, and all sales will support a family with a box of eggs, pancake mix, milk, etc. AND, for just $12 more, you can donate a Piggy Box meal (pizza, salad, and desert) to the local volunteers and workers who are tirelessly staffing these food shelves.
+ Ann Kim’s award-winning Young Joni will be donating 5% of sales, not just during this weekend, but during the entire month of June to the West Broadway Area Coalition.
+ If you donate the dollars to the St. Paul's just/us, they'll take those dollars and use them to make and bring free food to the Sacred Space at 38th Street. They had a great first run and they'd love to do it again, so throw them some cash. If there's extra, they'll donate it to Reclaim the Block.
+ This weekend, Lat 14 in Golden Valley will become a drop off station. Now through Sunday, from 12-8pm, they will be acting as a drop-off site for items that the community needs. Things like laundry detergent, cereal, personal soap, cooking oil can all be dropped off at the restaurant in Golden Valley and they’ll make sure it gets in the right hands.
+ World Street Kitchen/Milkjam Creamery has donated over $10,000 to We Love Lake Street and the Northside Funders Group among others. They have been and continue to be feeding people in need for free. Taking donations which will 100% go toward this effort at @worldstreet-kitchen.
+ Meteor Bar, which is in North Minneapolis, acted as a drop-off point for construction materials yesterday. Things like power tools, staples, tarps, lumber and such are needed to rebuild people’s businesses can be picked up today in their parking lot. They’ve also relaunched their hotdog shop because suddenly their Neo-Home Depot.
+ The freshly formed Crisp & Green Foundation has committed to donating an initial $25,000 across organizations supporting minority neighborhoods. And in their goal to reach $100,000 they will donate $1 from each meal sold at our North Loop, Wayzata and Edina locations between June 3rd and June 7th. That's a lot of salad.
+ Black Stack Brewing in St. Paul is open for curbside pickup of good craft beer, but they will also take a hand off of donated food to give to the community at Keystone Food Shelf. They’ve also promised 100% of sales this week to community funds supporting Mn Fund Hub, which distributes monies amongst different Black and community organizations.
+ Stray Dog is looking for artists to help create George Floyd artwork on their plywood, so call them if you are good art. They're also delivering lunches to volunteers in South Mpls, so call them if you are good and hungry.
+ Wild Mind Ales is taking part of the Black is Beautiful initiative, in conjunction with Weathered Soul Brewing in Texas. This black stout will be brewed across the country with proceeds benefitting local charities, WMA is donating theirs to the DuNord Distilling Riot Recovery Fund.
+ Get on board with the Neighbor Loaves bread donation program at Baker's Field Flour and Bread. Order one Good 'Which of the North loaves (or since they're $6, order two or three or four), and once they reach 40 orders they'll make sure they all make their way to The Food Group MN. They guide those crusty little loaves into the hands of the hungry.
+ Henry & Sons is looking for your new and gently used cooler donations. They'll take them in their parking lot any day from 12p-6p. Feel free to bring some non-perishables, and while you're at it, slip inside and grab a little bottle of rosé to cheer good deeds.
+ I know you saw that sea of grocery bags last week at Sanford Middle School and heard about the donation places being overwhelmed, just don’t let that make you think we’re done. We’re not. Need is ongoing as people struggle through this muck. The Sheridan Story is holding an URGENT NEED drive on Saturday up at their Roseville warehouse. From 10am-2pm you can drive by with rice, pasta, diapers, lady products, canned food and more.
+ THEN there are the places helping restaurants get ready for the next steps. Craftmade Aprons is ready to step up with Restaurant Health and Safety Kits. These little gems are packed with 4 one-gallon jugs of sanitizer, a contactless thermometer, and 20 cloth face masks. They are giving 75 of these kits away for free, so head over to the website and nominate your favorite place (or your favorite self) to get one.
