The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has announced it is severing ties with its in-house restaurant, Cardamom, following the eatery's decision to replace front-of-house staff with a QR code ordering system. The move by the restaurant would have resulted in the immediate termination of sixteen hosts and servers, sparking plans for worker protests and picketing.
This dispute highlights the growing tension between automated service models and the institutional values of cultural organizations. By terminating the partnership, the Walker Art Center is prioritizing a "human-centered approach" over the restaurant group's drive for technological efficiency, signaling that labor practices within museum-hosted businesses can directly impact an institution's public reputation and mission.