The Walker Art Center is cutting ties with Cardamom, the museum’s in-house restaurant, after the operator scrapped traditional table service in favor of QR-code ordering and cut front-of-house server roles. Museum leaders said the move clashes with their goal of offering a full-service, human-centered dining experience, and confirmed the space will revert to Walker control as it launches a search for a new restaurant partner.
Walker Says QR-Only Service Clashes With Its Values
In a statement, the Walker said Cardamom will close at the museum within 60 to 90 days, and that Executive Director Mary Ceruti said the museum was “caught by surprise” by the sudden service shift. The Walker described Cardamom’s new setup as a “reduced-service model” that favors automation over people, adding that it “does not align with our core values,” according to CBS Minnesota.
Cardamom Opened In 2021 Before Fast Pivot To QR Codes
Cardamom, backed by restaurateur Daniel del Prado and positioned as a Mediterranean-inspired option inside the Walker, opened in 2021 with a mix of counter and full table service. Earlier this month, the operator shifted to a QR-based counter-service model, and workers say multiple hosts and servers lost their jobs and plan to picket, as first reported by MPR News and covered at opening by the Star Tribune.
Operator Says QR Shift Was About Survival
DDP Restaurant Group, which runs Cardamom along with several other Twin Cities spots, defended the QR transition as a financial necessity driven by uneven visitor traffic and rising operating costs. The company said most affected staff members were offered other positions within the group or severance, and characterized the change as an effort to “preserve jobs and a restaurant at the Walker,” according to comments given to local media and reported by CBS Minnesota.
Walker Plans New Vendor As Cardamom Winds Down
The Walker said it will issue a request for proposals in the coming months to find a new restaurant operator for the space. Cardamom will continue offering limited service until its departure, according to a museum news release cited by KARE 11. DDP Restaurant Group told reporters Cardamom “was not immune to the continuing challenges for restaurants in Minneapolis,” and museum officials acknowledged the concept had not turned a profit at the location.
Why This Dust-Up Hits A Nerve
The split shines a spotlight on a growing tension in the restaurant world between worker-centered service models and cost-cutting automation that surged during the pandemic. Local reporting suggests QR-driven efficiency might help restaurants hang on in tough conditions, but it can also chip away at the kind of hands-on hospitality cultural institutions say they want to offer, a conflict underscored in coverage from MPR News.
