Glowing Symbols Of Hope For Restaurants
If you’ve walked around the North Loop at night lately, you may have noticed a new glow coming through the windows of restaurants, coffee shops and taprooms. It’s part of a unique gesture from a local businessperson, meant to symbolize hope and solidarity.
The glow is coming from little solar candles inside glass votives produced by Hennepin Made. The company’s co-owner, Jackson Schwartz, wanted to find a way to help hospitality workers after his own cafe, Parallel, was forced to close by the governor’s stay at home order.
Rise Bagel
He started distributing the votives for free to North Loop restaurants and taprooms this past week, with many more to go out in the next week or two.
“It’s just a symbol that we’re all still here,” said Schwartz. “Even though we aren’t seeing each other, connecting, we’re all still here.”
At the same time, he’ll be selling the same votives to the public as a fundraiser. All the proceeds will go to Minnesota Central Kitchen, which supports food service workers while helping fight hunger. The fundraising site went live on April 14th.
If you’re a North Loop restaurant or taproom owner and would like a votive for your business’s window, you can direct message Hennepin Made through Instagram or write to Jackson at jackson@hennepinmade.com
By Mike Binkley, North Loop Neighborhood Association
Bachelor Farmer cafe