Walker Art Center Severs Ties with Restaurant for Laying Off Workers in Favor of QR Codes

Cardamom, a beloved restaurant at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, is no more following a controversial decision by the eatery to lay off its front-of-house workers and institute a QR code ordering system.

The museum said on Thursday that such a move “does not align with our core values.”

“We are committed to creating a welcoming environment for all of our guests at the Walker,” director Mary Ceruti said in a statement. “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.”

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She said that the museum leadership was “caught by surprise” by the layoffs, and that the Walker and Cardamom had “decided to part ways.”

Operated by chef Daniel del Prado, Cardamom has been open at the Walker since 2021. For its part, the restaurant said the decision to lay off 16 hosts and servers was motivated by shifts impacting its industry.

“The restaurant was never profitable,” a Cardamom spokesperson told a local NBC affiliate, saying that the eatery was “not immune to the continuing challenges for restaurants in Minneapolis.”

Previously, a representative for del Prado’s DDP Restaurant Group had said that the QR code system would enable the restaurant to “better align staffing with the needs of the business and create more reliable, stable hours for employees who remain with Cardamom,” according to MPR News.

A protest was planned to take place outside the Walker this afternoon.

Cardamom is slated to shutter within the next 60 to 90 days. The museum is now seeking proposals for a replacement restaurant.