Kim’s Reopens in Uptown After Being Vandalized

Uptown Minneapolis restaurant Kim’s has reopened for service after vandals threw a cement slab and white paint through the window over the weekend, according to an Instagram post from owner Ann Kim on Saturday, June 8.

Photos and a video of the damage show a shattered window pane with a gaping hole, and white paint splattered on the glass, the sidewalk, and the shelving and decor inside the restaurant. The cement slab rests on a banquette amid shattered glass; a small can of paint lies on the sidewalk. According to the Star Tribune, police responded to a property damage call at the restaurant at approximately 7 a.m. Saturday, but have not made any arrests.

“The physical damage can and will be fixed, but that doesn’t mean the feeling of our space being violated, and our security being threatened, doesn’t bring a new level of angst,” Kim wrote in the Instagram post. “While we believe in Uptown, our team, and our guests, we are shaken.” Kim did not respond to a request for further comment by the time of publication.

Local chefs, restaurant owners, and community members flooded Kim’s comments with messages of support. On Sunday, June 9, she posted that the restaurant had reopened for both lunch and dinner services, thanking everyone who’d reached out in the aftermath of the vandalism. The restaurant’s Instagram account is currently on private mode.

Kim’s was most recently in the news in May, when workers at the restaurant announced their intent to unionize with Unite Here Local 17, a hospitality union that represents thousands of workers around the Minneapolis St. Paul metro. On June 8, Unite Here Local 17 shared a message from Kim’s workers to Instagram, which encouraged the community to keep coming to Kim’s and “sharing your love for us and Uptown.”

“We know our city and community face many challenges and these occurrences are all too common,” the post reads. “But we also know how strong and loving our community is. We have been overwhelmed with support in the recent weeks, as so many neighbors and friends have come in to Kim’s to encourage us in both our organizing and in our careers.”

Kim made her first public statement on the unionization effort in an Instagram post on June 9, writing that she “firmly agree[s] that everyone deserves the right to a voice and a vote,” and that she believes the Kim’s team can “come together” without a union.