Carbone’s rallies customer community that once cared for them

They first got concerned back in early December. When Jessica and Dan Magnuson, co-owners of Carbone’s Pizza and Pub on Cedar Avenue, heard that members of the local immigrant community were afraid to go to work and were sheltering at home, they knew they needed to do something.

The only question was what.

As a business that will soon celebrate its 40th anniversary, Jessica Magnuson described the restaurant as “a neighborhood destination.” The kind with weekly regulars, whether families who show up every Friday night or a group of retired pilots who come for lunch every Wednesday.

“I will never ever forget the amount of support they gave us,” she said, recalling all customers who made a point of ordering take-out during the pandemic lockdown. “It was unreal how this community just wrapped us in their arms when COVID happened… They literally kept us in business.”

That loyal customer base also once rallied around a Carbone’s server, Anna, when she experienced pregnancy complications. So, among the restaurant’s long-time staff, Anna was especially motivated to “give back” to the community this past winter.

“I will head this up with you,” she told her boss.

KIDS AND MOMENTS OF JOY
Magnuson and Anna met together, brainstorming how they could best support the families who were sheltering in place. It seemed like several Minneapolis restaurants had already covered food and grocery donations and deliveries. Magnuson wanted to look for an unmet need. She and Anna “organically sat down and started talking about what’s important to us and what aligns with Carbone’s and our vision and value statements.”

The brainstorming discussion eventually landed on “kids and moments of joy.”

The two reflected on what a typical night at the restaurant feels like. “It looks like chaos because it is literally families (bantering) over dinner, and it’s kids running everywhere,” Magnuson said. “It’s those kids that we watch grow up and those kids that we watch have milestones. At our heart, that’s who we are.”

Their donation drive would focus on that: providing joy and activities for the kids who couldn’t be there. Magnuson and Anna made a plan to rally that loyal, supportive customer community to bring in the donations.

A BRIGHT LIGHT IN A HORRIBLE TIME
Anna connected with a local pastor who understood the specific needs in his community. Learning more about those needs, Carbone’s added a few highly practical household and personal care items to the donation request list. That included: diapers and baby wipes, feminine care products, cleaning wipes and paper towels, and socks.
The request list went out on the restaurant’s social media pages. Within days the donations started rolling in, filling multiple counters and tables. Magnuson expected her customer base to come through, but the extent of the generosity surprised her.

She described a family of five that she sees at the restaurant three or four times a month. “They have twins in high school and a freshman in college, so we’ve watched their kids grow,” she said. This family brought in their donation, which included “two huge bags of diapers and wipes and then $200 in gift cards” for rideshare apps and fuel expenses. “It’s families like that… that touch me on a different level,” Magnuson said. “To see the amount of love that these people have for the community, it’s the bright light in this horrible time.”

Magnuson reflected more somberly on her concerns regarding children who have needed to shelter in place for months now, and how this winter has likely impacted them. “I just think of how hard it is for us, as adults, to process what’s going on. How many emotional moments, even I myself… have had,” she said. “How can these children, whose brains are not even developed... I don’t understand how they are even processing this. It blows my mind.”

She shared that she hopes the abundant donations help in small but significant ways. “Even if it’s just a stuffed animal, sometimes they just need some love,” Magnuson said. “Maybe it’s a coloring book and crayons, but if for five minutes it makes them smile? Then that’s what you want to do.”

A little more often this past winter, Magnuson has found herself taking a moment during busy nights at the restaurant to stop and notice the sight of people talking and laughing with each other. “In this dark time, when everything is so heavy and so sad, it really feels good to be able to see those moments of joy still… and feel like we can do something,” she said. “There’s a lot of little special neighborhoods in Minneapolis. And even more so now, with seeing how much Minnesota and Minneapolis has come together and stood up, it really makes you proud to be a part of it.”

NOTE: Carbone’s will continue to serve as a donation hub as long as there is need expressed by their distribution partner. As of press deadline, requests focus on games and activities for teens. Please watch the restaurant’s social media pages for updates: @carbonesminneapolis.

Immigrant advocacy groups note that some families may continue to shelter in place beyond official draw-down of declared I.C.E. actions. The safety of some families is not yet certain.