North Minneapolis' Breaking Bread Cafe closing temporarily to make 'adjustments'

The nonprofit job-training cafe Breaking Bread is hitting the pause button.

Appetite for Change, the organization that runs Breaking Bread Cafe (1210 W. Broadway Av., Mpls., 612-529-9346, breakingbreadfoods.com), announced Friday it would be closing the cafe temporarily to retool its service and menu.

"Breaking Bread is an important asset in the community, offering jobs, training and fresh/local food at an affordable price. In order to ensure that we are able to offer these services well into the future, this short term pause in service is necessary," the organization wrote in its announcement over email and social media. "During that time we will be planning and thoughtfully engaging our stakeholders in a process to improve our service, operations, and offerings."

Reached Friday, office administrator Shaunté Douglas said some of those changes include updating and reducing the size of the menu, tweaking service and retraining staff.

While Douglas did not have an estimate of how long the closure would be, "I would say at least 30 days just to be on the safe side." But she emphasized that it would reopen. "This is not permanent," Douglas said.

Breaking Bread's catering operation will continue during the closure, as will the Kindred Kitchen commisary space for food entrepreneurs. There will also be pop-up events, Douglas said.

The cafe closed once before to make similar adjustments, for three weeks in 2018, three years into its tenure in north Minneapolis.