A St. Paul diner aimed at giving the disenfranchised a second chance in life shuttered its doors Thursday after underwhelming business and a lack of participation.
The Daily Diner opened in the city's Frogtown neighborhood in April 2013 with the hopes of training 25 to 30 participants — the homeless, formerly incarcerated or recovering addicts — each year for jobs in the food service industry.
But poor sales and a small number of participants have forced it to close, according to the nonprofit Union Gospel Mission, which operated it.
"It's certainly a decision that had been wrestled with for a number of months," said Brian Molohon, the nonprofit's director of development. "We're not being good stewards if we continue on this path."
Molohon said the nonprofit couldn't justify spending so much money on a program that had so few participants while the diner was losing about $20,000, and sometimes more, each month.
The training program had attracted 12 participants, some of whom did not complete the 12-week course for a number of reasons.
The initial start-up cost for the diner was about $900,000, Molohon said.
Light-rail construction, renovations at the State Capitol and a stigma about working in food service are likely reasons the diner performed poorly, he said.
