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Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: June 7th, 2013, 9:27 pm
by seanrichardryan
Presentation on Loose Wiles Freehouse:

http://the2020partners.com/wordpress/wp ... 521131.pdf

Weird name, but seems like an awesome concept
Looks like they turned my old office into a fitness center. I assume they must be repositioning the office entrance to 7th or the original on Washington? It is a neat multi-level space and it looks like an awesome concept.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: June 8th, 2013, 7:05 am
by jet777
Something tells me "The Office" is going to be a shithole. Maybe it's the sign they had a 7 year old draw up rather than having a professional develop a real concept.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: June 8th, 2013, 8:08 am
by Nathan
I don't really care what "the office" ends up being like. It's a huge improvement on the street scape, and if it fails, it makes it more appealing for something else, and more possibility for further aiding the building... preferably those upper windows...

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: June 20th, 2013, 11:14 pm
by seanrichardryan
I heard Peter's Grill might be closing, again , but for good.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 4th, 2013, 12:19 pm
by Nick
Looks like they're having another go at the Joe's Garage space:

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/meetings/hpc/WCMS1P-110436
1608-10 Harmon Place, Harmon Place Historic District (BZH #27789, Ward 7) (Holien)

(Staff Report) (Written Material) (Drawings) (Photographs)

Tim Rooney of Joe’s Building, LLC, has submitted a Certificate of Appropriateness for various alterations to the property at 1608-10 Harmon Place, a non-contributing property in the Harmon Place Historic District. The scope of work includes: replacement windows, façade alterations, replacement of awnings, a 481 square foot elevator addition on the roof, and a painted mural on the north side of the building.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 4th, 2013, 1:07 pm
by PhilmerPhil
The guys behind Butcher & Boar are behind this one, I believe: http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2013/07 ... garage.php

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 4th, 2013, 3:44 pm
by John
One of the best rooftop views in town. Good contender for an UrbanMSP Happy Hour!

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 4th, 2013, 5:07 pm
by Minneapolisite
The Bullfrog was absolutely awful, and dirty taps the one time I went. Completely forgettable.
I live in Loring Park, but man am I the only one who feels like he got the ole bait-n-switch with this place? Bulldog Downtown looks promising, but then once inside I swear I'm in some chain bar in Bloomington: WTF? The logo is mostly black and there's a godd@mn bulldog on it and it's named "The Bulldog". A jukebox playing non-stop crap like Ke$ha does not to me convey anything bulldog related nor does an interior that's interchangeable with a Chili's. The HH prices on beer sucks ($1 off) and the hotdog section of the menu charging $6 per dog makes me homesick for Dirty Frank's Hotdog Palace. I for some reason expected something like this: fun and welcoming interior design,great ambiance and crowd backed by a good jukebox, and affordable. DF's has $3 dogs all day and night, the feel of the place is spot on and makes you want to spend time inside,they have a "We ONLY play local music" policy, and these bad boys are also $3 whenever you want one:

Image

http://www.columbusalive.com/content/st ... -cans.html

Instead I get a lame suburban bar on the fringe of Loring Park right on prime Downtown real estate.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 8th, 2013, 8:45 am
by spearson
Anyone know of any news on the old Forum restaurant? Such an amazing space hidden behind that soulless exterior glass curtain, I really would like the space occupied again!

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 8th, 2013, 9:03 am
by John
Anyone know of any news on the old Forum restaurant? Such an amazing space hidden behind that soulless exterior glass curtain, I really would like the space occupied again!
Sad that one of the best remaining art deco interiors in the US is imprisoned in City Center. If Shorenstein decides to upgrade the complex , the Forum exterior should be included.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 8th, 2013, 9:16 am
by nordeast homer
Maybe the next go 'round they won't price the food along the same lines as a mortgage payment. I don't mind paying a bit more for dining in space like that, but make it so a person can afford to go there at least once a year...
I agree, they should improve the exterior so you can tell you are going into a nice restaurant, not an outdated 80's hotel style space.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 18th, 2013, 7:47 pm
by Le Sueur
Uber is bringing back the world wide ice cream truck roll out:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421982,00.asp

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: July 18th, 2013, 8:09 pm
by FISHMANPET
Haha I love Uber.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 1:12 pm
by twincitizen
Diarrhea after lunch to decline dramatically: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... kyway.html

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 3:49 pm
by Aville_37
No sad loss there and super happy the food trucks are doing so well and drawing people outside and onto the streets. Still - not everyone can spend $10 for lunch and I also don't want the skyway level of buildings to become ghost towns. Retail/restaurants in Mpls. have a hard enough time as it is. Since food trucks are basically only seasonal it would be unfortunate if the sky level spaces start becoming empty.

Going off on a tangent here...So I was back in town for a visit recently and was super geared up to walk around the city and snap pics of all the developments going on. Sadly - many haven't yet started. While it really is exciting to see new investment and development in the core city - there is still a long way to go. So many surface parking lots not only in the downtown core/DTE - but in the North Loop as well. Also - so many unrealized opportunities for retail/businesses - both local and national. Had lunch at Moose & Sadies and loved the new little stores that have opened next door and along Washington by Runyons. Still - I can't believe more service retail hasn't sprung up, especially in the North Loop - salons, convenience stores, dry cleaners. I am a bit disappointed that they new apartment buildings didn't include ground floor space for retail, etc.

Also - while DID is definitely doing a great job spifing up downtown - the city REALLY needs to invest in infrastructure - sidewalk replacement/repair, planting/caring for trees, and get going on creating new green space. The little seedlings planted along Washington Avenue in the North Loop are a joke. I am excited about a redesigned Nicollet Mall - but money needs to be spent on greening and redoing the sidewalks on OTHER streets - especially east/west corridors - hideously grey/barren. Placing planters along the streets are nice but only a band aid.

Ok - done with my mini rant. Mpls. is still a great city and was glad to be back.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 4:03 pm
by min-chi-cbus
I was just in San Francisco over the weekend and walked at least 6-7 miles around downtown and there were restaurants and retail EVERYWHERE! Obviously, SF is on another level than Minneapolis, but why it's on such a different level I don't quite understand. Yes, SF is a bigger, more important city than Minneapolis. Yes, it has FAR more tourists. But still, it seemed like at least half of the streets in SF were lined with retail in one form or another: whether it was Chinatown, Little Italy, high-end retail like Coach or Prada, or Ma and Pa stores and boutiques -- retail was EVERYWHERE! Maybe it's the near-zero threat of inclement weather in SF that makes it such a walker's (and urban) paradise? Maybe SF has no mega-malls like the Mall of America? It's sad to think that Minneapolis once had one of THE better downtown retail scenes, only to be diminished to its current state, in large part due to MOA's success and a STRONG anti-city sentiment in the Twin Cities (whereas SF is THE place to be in that metro area).

I don't have any one-size-fits-all solutions for downtown Minneapolis, but I agree that infrastructure (particularly aesthetics and a feeling of place and comfort) is very important. However, in SF just about every single sidewalk seemed to be at least 20 years old, with huge cracks, terrible ramps to the street, etc. Minneapolis should make it as easy as possible for businesses to locate within the city, especially downtown. Along with Nicollet; Washington, Hennepin, and at least one more E-W street should be encouraging retail (perhaps 5th or 6th, since they'll eventually line the new park "The Yard" and be near the LRT).

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 4:21 pm
by alleycat
I was just in San Francisco over the weekend and walked at least 6-7 miles around downtown and there were restaurants and retail EVERYWHERE! Obviously, SF is on another level than Minneapolis, but why it's on such a different level I don't quite understand. Yes, SF is a bigger, more important city than Minneapolis. Yes, it has FAR more tourists. But still, it seemed like at least half of the streets in SF were lined with retail in one form or another: whether it was Chinatown, Little Italy, high-end retail like Coach or Prada, or Ma and Pa stores and boutiques -- retail was EVERYWHERE! Maybe it's the near-zero threat of inclement weather in SF that makes it such a walker's (and urban) paradise? Maybe SF has no mega-malls like the Mall of America? It's sad to think that Minneapolis once had one of THE better downtown retail scene...
San Francisco is the second densest major city in the US. Much like Manhattan it was limited to grow within a defined geographic boundary. Minneapolis and St. Paul combined have a similar population, but less than half the density.

I question that San Fran was continuously dominant. The Silcon Valley saw more investment and population gain until recently. Those cities along the peninsula are relatively dense for strung out suburbs because they are boxed in by the bay and mountain range.

Minneapolis's only limiting factor to sprawl is the fact that it covers a small area for an American city. The suburbs had no natural limit and therefore could sprawl until economic reality set in. I do believe governmental boundaries of both Minneapolis and St. Paul combined with trends towards urban living will increase density and therefore commercial space.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 4:58 pm
by Gman12
My thoughts are San Fransisco doesn't have suburbs on 3 sides with water so the retail has to be in the city. Sure there is retail across the bridges and to the south, but since it is so dense, retail easily thrives. MSP on the other hand kind of turned into a crap hole after WWII and everyone moved out of the city to the suburbs, where naturally the retail followed and indoor malls became the norm due to cold weather half the year.

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 5:04 pm
by seanrichardryan
*cough restaurant news *cough

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Posted: August 6th, 2013, 5:11 pm
by alleycat
*cough restaurant news *cough
Oh...we'll have plenty of restaurant news when Minneapolis hits 14k/sq mile.