Discovering East Lake Street: Heavy Table’s Secret Atlas of North Coast Food

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Susan Pagani has lived in Minneapolis longer than she’s lived anywhere else – about six years. Growing up her family moved frequently, and by her calculations she’s lived in 7 states, 12 cities, and 35 houses. But it’s Minneapolis that she calls home, and writing a chapter on East Lake Street for Heavy Table’s upcoming book The Secret Atlas of North Coast Food has deepened her ties with the neighborhood through hours of exploration in the tucked-away corners of local shops and restaurants.“I thought I knew the food on the street pretty well, but once I got into the project and started visiting all of the restaurants and shops, I was sort of in awe of everything that’s there,” Pagani explained. “Now, having had those experiences and really explored the place, it definitely feels more like my neighborhood.”Exploring East Lake Street GemsHer work began by driving up and down East Lake Street with James Norton, editor of Heavy Table, compiling a list of spots they loved and new places they wanted to visit. Pagani narrowed that list down, and a month later, she went on a walking and driving tour of the different shops with illustrator Andy DuCett. Continue Reading

Minneapolis: New Cultural Arts Market planned for Franklin Avenue

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No Person’s LandOn Wednesday, a crowd of 30 or 40 people gathered in an unlikely space – a median in the void between Seward and Ventura Village. Sheldon Mains, director of Spokes, described the roadway as a “no person’s land” and explained that it’s “scary for pedestrians and bikes–and not that great for cars.”Fortunately, it’s not going to stay that way for long. Thanks to a $435,000 ArtPlace grant, the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) is planning turn the space into a park and cultural marketplace called Anpetu Was’te Cultural Arts Market.NACDI hopes that the changes will, “create opportunities for local entrepreneurs, develop needed active community space, improve pedestrian safety, reverse decades of high-crime activity in [the] area, and strengthen Indigenous geographic identity.”Hestness describes the features of the planned cultural marketplace to a tour group. The area will include food trucks, a stage, and vendor space for artists and entrepreneurs.Park, Arts Hub, TheaterCompeting with the noise of cars and a few sirens, Andy Hestness, NACDI community development specialist, lead a tour of the new plaza to the group gathered on Wednesday. He explained that the area is classified by the city as an activity area, and NACDI wants it to live up to it’s designation. Continue Reading

Vikings and volunteers build a playground in a day at Howe School

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Can a playground get built in a day? You betcha!With the work of more than 200 community volunteers and all of the Vikings coaches and players, a new KaBOOM! playground was built in less than five hours at the Howe campus of Hiawatha Community School.This morning, volunteers moved approximately eight tractor trailers of mulch, thousands of pounds of concrete by hand, and installed garden boxes and a mural at the school.The playground design was based on drawings by children who provided their input at a design event in March.The build day was a collaboration between Minneapolis Public Schools, Hiawatha PTO, The Toro Company, KaBOOM!, and the Minnesota Vikings. This is the eighth playground built in the Twin Cities with the help of the Vikings and the Toro Company. Together, they have donated nearly $529,000 towards playgrounds at local schools.Kids performed “Take Me Out to The Playground” (sung to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”) for the volunteers after the playground was built.The adult volunteers are all smiles as they line up for a picture after spending a morning building the playground.The new playground will be ready for kids in 72 hours – when the concrete dries.Even the Vikings mascot showed up to take part in the festivities.While all of the kids had special sheets to collect autographs from Vikings players, one stood out by bringing a helmet for signatures. Continue Reading

New partnership at Franklin Freeze keeps Minneapolis business open year round

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Tabatha Obert, owner of the Franklin Freeze has teamed up with Fayez Elmakarhi and Louie Kader to bring Middle Eastern fare to the Franklin Freeze.Obert purchased the ice cream shop last year, and found that keeping a seasonal business afloat is no easy task. “It’s hard to make our payments on a seasonal businesses,” she explained. “This corner needed more than ice cream to sustain itself.”Ready to sell the business, she found potential buyers – Elmakarhi and Kader. After talking, they came up with a new plan, become business partners.The three have hit it off. “They’re so creative in Middle Eastern food,” said Obert. Continue Reading

Midtown Corridor transit: Streetcar, enhanced bus, or a little of both?

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Last week, neighbors gathered at the Colin Powell Center and Whittier Clinic to view the latest transportation plans for the Midtown Corridor.Transit OptionsThere are three options that are in consideration at this point:Enhanced bus service, which would run along Lake Street between the light rail stations at Midtown (Blue Line) and West Lake (Green Line).Streetcar, which would run along the Midtown Greenway between the Blue and Green Line.A hybrid of the two, which includes a streetcar that would operate on the Greenway between the Blue and Green Line, as well as an enhanced bus line along Lake Street that would offer service to St. Paul.The third hybrid option is a result of considerable resident feedback at Metro Transit’s February open house. Metro found that many people were interested in service into St. Paul. This third option would allow Metro Transit to extend enhanced bus service to the Midway shopping area at University and Snelling.Meeting Project GoalsMetro Transit Project Manager Michael Mechtenberg said that the option they chose will need to meet the project’s goals, which are toincrease transit use,improve mobility and access to jobs and activities,be a catalyst for housing and economic development,be cost-effective (capital and operating costs) and well-positioned for implementation, andbuild upon the vibrancy and diversity of the corridor by supporting healthy, active communities and the environment.What’s NextProject planners will be working on completing a more detailed analysis of the three options. Continue Reading

Moving to the beat: Memory Lanes Block Party

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The heavy salsa beat from Malamanya could be heard a block away as I walked towards the Sunday night block party at Memory Lanes.The music was intoxicating, filling the space in front of the stage with all sorts of people – people who had taken a spin on the salsa dance floor before, kids who couldn’t help but move to the beat, and even a few hipsters.The block party is an annual two-day event, with a large line-up of bands that play into the night.Lead singer Adriana Rimpel had a sound that was made for Afro-Cuban music. The Star Tribune’s description is apt – “sultry and soaring.”Blue suede dancing shoes.There were many families at the party with babies and kids.The block party scene in the evening at Memory Lanes.Memory Lanes & Flashback Cafe is located at 2520-26th Ave S, Minneapolis. Continue Reading

Morris dancers, bag pipes, and beer: Merlins Rest block party

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Yesterday was the first annual Merlins Rest block party. More than 200 morris dancers took over the block next to the pub to entertain block party attendees and each other. Bag pipers were also a part of the festivities (of course!). Check out our photo recap below.Merlins Rest is located at 3601 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis. Check out the pub’s Facebook page for more photos and video. Continue Reading

Sanford Students honor four community members

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Wednesday afternoon, seventh graders at Sanford Middle School performed in an Elders’ Wisdom Children’s Song event honoring four community members through recitation and songs. The four honorees wereBernadeia Johnson, superintendent of Minneapolis Public SchoolsMohamed Salah Abdi, educator and English language learner coordinatorOfficer Manny Granroos, Sanford’s police liaisonShed Garrettt, KMOJ Radio D.J., actor, and comedianThe program is a collaboration between the students, songwriter Larry Long, and Anthony Galloway. They work with each honoree to create original pieces that tell the story of each elders’ life.From left, Officer Manny Granroos, Bernadeia Johnson, Shed Garrett, and Mohamed Salah Abdi stand on stage waiting for the program to begin.Anthony Galloway (left), Martial Besombes, and Larry Long lead the children in the performance.Students act out each honoree’s life story as it is being read.Students tell the story of Bernadeia Johnson at the Elder’s Wisdom performance.Words of WisdomEach elder left the students with their words of wisdom.“You can educate yourself out of that poverty level by staying in school, going to college, in order to make a better career. Your parents can’t do it for you. Your friends and peers can’t do it for you. Continue Reading

Journeys: Open Door students tell stories of perseverance

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Wednesday night, several students from Open Door Learning Center will share their stories of overcoming barriers of language and culture at a reading at the Loft Literary Center.Open Door is tucked above the Denny’s on East Lake Street, and outdoor signage doesn’t provide much in the way of fanfare. However, walk through its doors on any weekday, and you’ll find bustling classrooms full of English language learner and G.E.D. students of all ages. They are hoping to improve their English writing, reading, and speaking skills; earn their G.E.D; learn basic math skills; or prepare for citizenship.A student listens to a lesson in the G.E.D. class at Open Door.Open Door StudentsStudents come to the program with varying skill levels – from pre-literate to students with a university degree from their country of origin. Since the school is near public transit systems, some come from all over the metro. However, there are many students that live in the neighborhood.Most students take the courses in the hopes of improving their chances of finding a job, according to Emily Beltmann-Swenson, Open Door’s outreach, marketing, and retention specialist.Gabriel Naula, a student Open Door, has spoken English for ten years, but is attending classes to take his skills to the next level. Continue Reading