Breaking Bread Cafe has temporarily closed for business

Breaking Bread Cafe is one of just a handful of full service restaurants in North Minneapolis. It was founded in 2015 by Princess Titus, Latasha Powell, and Michelle Horovitz. Photo by David Pierini

By Abdi Mohamed Staff Reporter and Myesha Powell Intern Reporter

On Friday, July 20, Appetite for Change (AFC) reached out to its supporters via email to say the organization is “pausing” operations at their social enterprise Breaking Bread Cafe, a full service restaurant in North Minneapolis. In their statement, AFC shared that they depend on donations to keep their organization running and have identified a couple “programs and ventures that could use some adjustments” in order to better serve the community.

Co-founder and executive director of AFC, Michelle Horovitz, told North News that fundraising capacity is one reason cafe operations have been paused. “We just need to tweak the model a little bit so it’s a bit less burdensome for our fundraising capacity,” she said. 

Horovitz says Breaking Bread’s temporary closure will likely last longer than the month-long pause it took in April of 2018. That pause was due to renovations and the installment of new equipment for the restaurant. Horovitz says AFC plans to update their supporters of a solidified reopening date in the next few weeks.

Some employees of Breaking Bread will stay on to work on the catering side of the business. Others will be limited to on-call opportunities during the pause. Some will be connected to the Adult Training Opportunity Program to find new jobs.

Horovitz confirmed that AFC will continue to offer their weekly farmer’s market on Fridays from 3-7pm at Freedom Square (located at the intersection of Oliver Ave. and W Broadway Ave.). The space at Breaking Bread will continue to be used for pop up shops, rental opportunities, meetings, and family or community events. Additionally, “Breaking Bread catering will still be operating, offering delivery and full-service catering for any event,” said AFC’s statement.

One change that AFC is reviewing is their financial model in running the business. Horovitz said that Breaking Bread Café is not “a break-even model” but mentioned that the organization is considering changing their menu structure and giving customers an opportunity to give more. “We’re conscious of the menu being affordable, but we also want to be able to stay open forever and not have to pause operations again,” she said.