× Expand Chef Alan Bergo of Lucia's Photo by Eliesa Johnson Chef Alan Bergo

What is wrong with us? We used to be one of this great nation's restaurant star-cities, and then in the last two years we lost so much of what made us special: La Belle Vie, Heartland, Birdie, Saffron, The Strip Club, Victory 44, Upton 43, Haute Dish, The Oak Grill at Dayton's (don't even tell me it was Macy's), Brewer's Table at Surly, Brasserie Zentral, Toast Wine Bar, and Piccolo. Of course, we lost loads more restaurants too, but some merely felt like the natural work of time—Ristorante Luci turning in to Bar Brigade, for instance. But those ones I listed, this is not normal, this is not natural, these are the best restaurants we have ever had. That Lucia's is closing is the last dagger I can stand.

Lucia's! Our very own Lucia's, which defined Northern cooking, single handedly revived butter makers and artisanal hog farmers, and knocked our socks off for 30 years. If you've never read my Lucia Watson profile, please go, and bring a box of tissues because this is a part of our hearts that we can not bear to lose but that we are losing nonetheless. I talked to the final chef, Alan Bergo, and he told me the last night is Saturday, October 14. "I'm so tired, I'm so spent," Bergo told me. "I’m emotionally drained, I've been trying to do everything I could night and day, working doubles every single day to thin down labor [costs], and what's so sad is the restaurant has been busy." Well, I don't know. Like, busy busy? I went a couple months ago to the wine bar and the place was deserted—though the food was seriously fantastic. Truly fantastic food in a truly empty restaurant, we were the lone and only table in the wine bar. I remember when you couldn't even find a slice of wall to lean on in Lucia's Wine Bar, it was that busy. Why didn't I mark that as notable when it happened? I just thought: Eh, it's an off night. I now wish I had raised the alarm. I didn't, and that's on me. In pale compensation, I am now raising a general alarm.

Tell me, Minneapolis, what is it you are doing with your evenings? Are you binge-watching through our golden age of television while chopping up your Blue Apron boxes? Are you fasting? If you fancy yourself as someone who lives in a good restaurant town and appreciates local chefs, stop whatever it is you have been doing and get out there and support our restaurants. Do you have a favorite restaurant you haven't visited in a while? Consider this your engraved invitation to prevent another funeral. I don't want to hear about the road construction. I don't want to hear you might have to walk to parking. I don't want to hear any excuses! It is not possible that two years ago we could support national-caliber greatness and today we've decided to live in a cemetery. It is not possible. Our restaurants need us, right now! Think of it this way. I know a lot of you support our local terrific museums, and even when we get busy we still send our membership check, because we know that they use our membership numbers to get foundation support, and we want them to be here when we're not busy. Our terrific restaurants don't have that model! This is an appeal to you, responsible patrons of the arts: Are you being a responsible patron of our food arts? If that's not enough of a nudge, here's some inside-dirt: I promise you that you have additional restaurant neighbors on life support and you don't even know it because you haven't gone to check on them.

Obviously, mistakes were made. All of us in Minneapolis are now responsible for some form of negligent homicide of our favorite restaurants that we totally loved and never wanted to lose. Let's forgive ourselves but let's not forget, and let's make the one change that can save us: get out there! Eat. It's the best cure to this pernicious disease.