Chef Ann Kim’s eponymous Uptown Minneapolis restaurant, Kim’s, will close on Friday, August 30, “due to ongoing financial losses,” per a statement from Kim’s restaurant group, Vestalia Hospitality. Kim declined to comment further on the reason for the closure.
The restaurant opened last fall in the same space that held the Kim’s previous Mexican and Korean-influenced restaurant, Sooki & Mimi, which specialized in heirloom masa dishes. Kim’s has served as a canvas for the chef to delve into Korean American cuisine, reflecting her family’s roots in Korea and her upbringing in Apple Valley, Minnesota: The restaurant opened with a menu of bindaetteok (savory mung bean pancakes), bibimbap, handmade “Spam” sandwiches, and bubbling egg soufflé, among other dishes.
On May 28, staff at Kim’s announced their intent to unionize. Organizing with local hospitality union Unite Here Local 17, they were focused, primarily, on getting to the bargaining table, where they planned to eventually outline goals for better benefits, pay, and stability. One major focus was achieving more consistent scheduling. “It’s about having a protected voice, so that we can ask for the things that we need to live good, fulfilling lives while also being integral role players at the restaurant,” bar lead Iain Knopp-Schwyn said at the time. “We want the restaurant to succeed; we just want it to succeed with all of us.”
Vestalia did not voluntarily recognize the union. Kim made her first public statement about the unionization push on June 9, writing on Instagram that she “firmly agree[s] that everyone deserves the right to a voice and a vote,” but that she felt Kim’s team could “come together” without a union. (The post has since been removed.) Later that month, food blogger Joe Rosenthal posted internal messages from Kim, her partner Conrad Leifur, and restaurant managers seemingly attempting to persuade staff to vote against unionizing. (Rosenthal’s original post is currently removed from Instagram due to an ongoing photo copyright dispute with the Star Tribune.)
On June 27, Kim’s workers successfully unionized — 65 percent voted yes. They were informed of the restaurant’s closure on Thursday, August 22. Unite Here Local 17 shared a message from workers on Instagram: “We are heartbroken because we care about our neighborhood, our customers, and each other,” it reads. “We organized because we know restaurant workers deserve to go into work every day feeling respected, with our heads held high.”
Workers said in the statement they plan to advocate for severance, health care, and recall rights — meaning, essentially, the rights of workers to be rehired if their positions become available again, should the business reopen — as well as “relocation rights.” Unite Here Local 17 did not respond to a request for interviews.
Business closures are often perceived as a means of union busting, though it can be difficult to determine intent and what factors ultimately led to the closure. For example, the National Labor Relations Board has ordered Starbucks to reopen multiple stores that were allegedly closed due to union activity.
The local service industry labor movement has gained considerable steam in recent years: Between 2020 and the present, the Twin Cities have seen unionization efforts at various breweries, distilleries, coffee shops, and food and beverage businesses, including local iterations of the Starbucks unionization wave. Kim’s was the first restaurant in this series, though it was closely followed by unionizing workers at Colita and Café Cerés. The latter recently won their union election; election results are pending for the former.
