James Norton

That's why we always say in journalism: Before you cite a fact, make sure you get it from only one source and do not ask any follow up questions or look for other, different sources.

Follow up: Read essentially the SAME story (again with no mention of ICE/DEI) in Axios this morning. I will hand it to Target: Their current PR team seems to be working overtime and effective at wrangling the press.

Here's a hell of an interesting (and unexpected) read from the good folks at Racket. I never would've guessed!

(To be fair, a non-trivial reason I've abandoned Target is that it feels like they got completely bored of being shopkeepers. Stocking shelves! Clocking trends! Managing inventory! Pricing goods! It's such a snooze compared to … whatever they've been doing instead.)

From the 3-3-26 MSP Business Journal - "The quarterly results highlight some of the challenges for Target, which in recent years has struggled to win over shoppers while rivals like Walmart Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp and Amazon.com rose. Customers and investors complained about disorganized stores while the retailer faced a changing landscape on tariffs and shopping habits. Walmart is pulling more of the upscale customers that Target once considered its own."

I was just yelling at my inbox this morning over an analysis of Target's challenges in the (usually good) MSP Business Journal. I guess "shopping habits" covers it?!

Now THIS is the kind of reader feedback I can rally behind!!

Anyhoodles, we'll keep invoking / contextualizing / trying to explain ICE and its impact on the hospitality industry as long as we have to, which looks like it may be a while yet. We will lose at least one subscriber over this. Them's the breaks!

To not allude to the crisis these places and these people are facing is ridiculous malpractice - that's vital context. The best thing non-AI writing - not gonna call it content - can do is provide the context that helps frame and explain the events.

The best part about eating here in Minnesota, in my opinion, are the chaotic, cosmopolitan, immigrant-driven streets like Central and Lyndale and University and Lake Street - amazing food, great values, new ideas, hard-working hustle-motivated young talent. So… that's our turf, as food writers.

Like: restaurants are actively closing down because people have been grabbed from the street and shipped to camps or are actively in hiding from masked gunmen. I would MUCH RATHER publish a fun restaurant review than deal with that crap. Sadly, they are SOMEWHAT INTERTWINED.

It's this crazy attitude where food is delicious and restaurants are great and the people who create that food and comprise those restaurants don't exist except for our convenience. These people - who are human beings - work VERY VERY hard. And they are VERY REASONABLY terrified. It's a big story.

Got my first "stop writing about ICE in your newsletter" email, which argued that we need to focus on food and not politics. Folks: THEY ARE INTERMINGLED. You can't declare war on the beating heart of the hospitality community without changing the food culture!!

went to the store

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AI Summary ✨

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Jon B. posted that he is going to the stove – perhaps to "cook up" another hot, hot radio single. Frogs and toads, which are the same, can live on the Sun and often choose to.

You're on! Also: I've never tried Nanny's but I don't think they can, within the laws of physics, be making better jerk chicken than West Indies Soul. Would love to be proved wrong on that though...

It's terrific stuff! Dammit, now I've gotta drive out there again.

One lengua and two al pastor tacos, salsas, and a bottle of coca cola.

I agree with @jrnorton.bsky.social, Tromperia El Zac has the best Al pastor in town. The lengua is great too.

More shit news. I just got word that the temporarily closed Pajarito on West. 7th in St. Paul is now permanently closed.

I think a raclette feast would get the job done - the broiler thing with the paddles, not the cheese-wheel melty thing. Melted cheese on cooked, onion-studded beef served over smashed potatoes will keep a werewolf skiing for quite a while.

Living in Minnesota right now feels like being in the emergency room. Literally everyone is suffering in different ways, even if it's "just" a badly twisted ankle rather than a kidney stone or a full-on heart attack. The staff are working as hard as they can but energy and resources are dwindling.

Lyda, my bestie and fellow SF/F writer, has been volunteering at a food mutual aid that has had to rapidly scale up. This is their venmo, please consider donating.

analysis: moby dick is about an evil whale and a normal guy out to kill him

An SOS from Restaurants in Federally Occupied Minnesota We spoke to anonymous industry members—restaurant owners, staff, and managers—about the toll that ICE activity has taken on their hearts, their businesses, and their communities, and how they’re quiet...

"These restaurants are doing this work under immense financial strain. I’ve heard again and again: This is like COVID, but worse. There is no governmental relief in sight." mspmag.com/eat-and-drin...

extremely funny to do this with a 14 seat restaurant that’s been open for 75 years

Eggroll Queen is one of my kids' favorite food trucks in town, and they're hurting. Consider helping, perhaps?

www.facebook.com/eggrollqueen...

YouTube video by Billy Bragg BILLY BRAGG - CITY OF HEROES

I wrote this yesterday about the hero city of Minneapolis

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOW...

Cheers and love from Longfellow, Minneapolis.

The text in the image reads: Until this occupation is over, we are Post Modern Times > Post Modern Times is free for all with the exception of our occupiers! Donate: @moderntimescafe (Venmo) givemn.org/story/centralimpactfund or in person

moderntimescafempls Hello, My name is Dylan. I own Modern Times Cafe in South Minneapolis and have for 15 years. Modern Times is on the corner of 32nd and Chicago Ave; 6 blocks from where George Floyd was murdered, 3 blocks from where Renee Good was executed, and a mere neighborhood away from where Alex Pretti was murdered. After ICE Agents shot and killed Renee and then Alex, I was at the scene within hours. I witnessed hostile and aggressive armed goons sent by the Federal Government protecting each other from unarmed, outraged citizens. I bore witness to these atrocities and was tear-gassed, smoke bombed, and concussion grenaded alongside my neighbors. Minneapolis has been living through the abhorrent horror of the federally sanctioned abduction of our neighbors, public executions of people exercising their rights, and a targeted escalation of government violence. It's an atrocious and despicable occupation. We are entering yet another week of this occupation with a deep sense of dread and mourning. We absolutely cannot go on as we have. am sick of generating money for the soldiers in our streets and for a government that won't protect us - a government who is actively inflicting daily harm on its citizens.

Effective tomorrow we are done making money for the fascists that occupy our city. We refuse to generate taxes under the guise of a functioning for-profit capitalist business aligned with government strategy. Amidst many strategic pivots and determined leadership, Modern Times has been barely soluble since 2020. Therefore, for the remainder of the government occupation, we will function as a free and donation based restaurant, Post Modern Times. Everyone is welcome EXCEPT ICE. Hours will not change but our menu will be smaller. Staff agreed to be present on a volunteer basis, working from shared tips and community donations. Post Modern Times is a small stance amidst a gigantic fight that may shape the future of this country. I am inspired by the ways our community has grown together, our hearts breaking open, to give and receive care in all the ways we can. May we continue to see each other in the streets.

A photo of Modern Times cafe, on Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, during warmer weather

Modern Times is a South Minneapolis staple, and a personal favorite haunt. For the duration of the occupation they're renaming themselves Post Modern Times and going to a donation-only model. Everyone but ICE can eat for free.

Donations:
Venmo: moderntimescafe
givemn.org/story/centralimpactfund