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Walker Art Center cuts ties with Cardamom after restaurant launches QR code ordering, eliminates staff

By
Aki Nace
Digital Producer, CBS Minnesota
Aki Nace has been a web producer for CBS Minnesota since 2019. She covers breaking news and makes short-form documentary films.
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Aki Nace

/ CBS Minnesota

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis says it is terminating its relationship with Cardamom restaurant after its management group decided to replace staff positions with QR codes.

Cardamom's shift to the electronic model "does not align with the Walker's vision for a dining experience," according to a statement from the museum. The restaurant, which opened in 2021 inside the contemporary art museum, will close within the next 60 to 90 days.

"While we do not oversee the restaurant in our museum, our vision has always been to have a full-service dining option within the Walker to complement the museum experience," said the Walker's Executive Director Mary Ceruti. 

Ceruti said the Walker was "caught by surprise" by the change. 

"The reduced-service model, which favors automated efficiencies over a human-centered approach, does not align with our core values," she said.

Workers at the restaurant say they were given just days notice of their termination. They plan to picket outside Cardamom on Thursday afternoon and again during brunch on Sunday.

Cardamom is operated by Daniel Del Prado's restaurant group, DDP, which operates several highly-touted establishments across the Twin Cities, including Martina, Porzana and Rosalia. 

DDP Restaurant Group said in a statement that "Cardamom was not immune to the continuing challenges for restaurants in Minneapolis."

"Our innovation was designed to preserve jobs and a restaurant at the Walker, just as dozens of other restaurants in Minneapolis have done to achieve financial survival," the statement says.

Most of the staff who were impacted by the QR code policies were offered positions to stay within the new system but declined. The restaurant group added that those staff members were offered severance. 

Until the restaurant closes, it will continue to offer limited dining services, the Walker said. The museum will start looking for a replacement restaurant in the coming months.

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