Distillery and bakery coming to Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis

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Two new businesses, Du Nord Craft Spirits and Shega Foods, are moving into a large, sprawling building on E. 32nd Street just off of Minnehaha Avenue.The building was previously home to Moto Primo and was just purchased by community developers Redesign and Shega Foods’ owner Worku Minday. The building will be renovated to house three tenants.Bakery & DistilleryShega Foods is an injera bakery currently located in Seward that primarily sells to East African restaurants and groceries. Minday explained that the new space on Minnehaha will give the bakery room to expand its production and broaden its reach to a mainstream market. He said that the bakery is also moving into the sale of East African spices and the additional space would give the company room to grow this portion of the business.Du Nord Craft Spirits will be Minneapolis first microdistillery/craft distillery, according to Du Nord owners.Renovation PlansIn addition to subdividing the building and remodeling the interior, Redesign plans to renovate the exterior of the building, including the landscaping.The building is located at 2610 E. 32nd St, Minneapolis. Continue Reading

Minneapolis: Redesigning Molly Quinn

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A major transformation is in the works for an East Lake Street eyesore thanks to community developers Redesign.Transforming an EyesoreThe organization just purchased the old Molly Quinn building at 3300 East Lake Street this week and has plans to transform the space inside and out, top to bottom.The building will have a redesigned facade and entryway; the parking lot will be repaved; the interior will be completely redone, including a finished basement; and a new roof will be installed, as will new signage, landscaping, and a patio. Redesign plans to have the construction completed by this fall.Sonora Grill Moves InThe space will be designed so that it can accommodate two tenants, one of which will be Sonora Grill, the delicious Latin/South American restaurant at Midtown Global Market.The restaurant plans to maintain the relaxed atmosphere it has at Midtown – customers will place their order at the counter and then servers will deliver food and drinks. The Grill will also have a wine and beer license.The Raw MaterialsThe main interior of the building will host Sonora Grill. Since the space was previously occupied by a restaurant, the work to bring the space up to code will be slightly easier.Redesign plans to lease this second space in the building to a second tenant. It believes that the building is better suited to two businesses since the space is so large.The second retail space, looking towards the future home of Sonora Grill.The exterior will be completely redesigned, including the landscaping. Continue Reading

Minnehaha Avenue: Residents speak up at Hennepin County public input meetings

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Last Thursday, two public meetings were held by Hennepin County to discuss the Minnehaha Avenue reconstruction that is planned to begin in the spring of 2015. Read the latest plan details.The meetings were lead by Michael Schroeder, a consultant from LHB, who began the session by stating, “We have lots of diverse interests to balance.”The diversity of opinions and perspectives quickly became clear when the meeting was opened up to resident input and questions.While people disagreed about the best solution for the reconstruction project, at the heart of the comments was a desire to see a project that would make the roadway safer for all users, help businesses thrive in the neighborhood, and have a reasonable price tag.Steve Krause, owner of Minnehaha Lake, Wine, and Spirits, captured the sentiment when he commented, “We need to make the road better for all classes of users. Why don’t we make it better for everyone? That’s the challenge of engineering.”Bumpouts and BusinessBusiness owners as well as some residents expressed a concern about the significant loss of parking due to the bumpouts. Hennepin County estimates that approximately 25%-32% of parking spaces will be eliminated, depending on the plan that is chosen. Some business owners state that the majority of their business comes from vehicle traffic and that eliminating such a large portion of parking might drive customers to go elsewhere.One business owner commented, “The idea that the bumpout will protect the pedestrians when we’re the third safest arterial corridor just seems a little overkill and it’s going to bottle neck our entire street and wipe away a huge amount of our parking. Continue Reading

Minnehaha Avenue reconstruction: Details from Hennepin County public input meetings

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Thursday night (7/11/13), Hennepin County held two meetings to discuss the Minnehaha Avenue reconstruction – an afternoon meeting was held for business owners, and an evening meeting was held for residents.Both meetings started with presentations by Nick Peterson from Hennepin County and CJ Fernandez of LBH. They were followed by an open forum – a time for attendees to voice concerns and ask questions. While some of the questions were answered at the meeting, Hennepin County plans to address the more in-depth questions online as well as at the next community meeting (not yet scheduled).This is the first of two articles on the Minnehaha Avenue Reconstruction meeting, it will cover the details presented at the meetings. The second article will cover the forum portion of the meeting.Roadway concepts illustrate the two options: bike lanes (top) and cycle track (below). Image courtesy of Hennepin County.Minnehaha Avenue Reconstruction DetailsCurrent Stats:9,000-12,000 cars travel Minnehaha Avenue per day, with 11,000-14,000 cars projected to travel the Avenue in the next 20 years.200-500 cyclists use the roadway daily (approximate number). Continue Reading

Midtown Farmers Market: Market report with Bayfield Fruit Company

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In this week’s Market Report, we talk to Fred Hobbs who sells strawberries for Bayfield Fruit Company at the Midtown Farmers Market. [Audio below]Market Report Notes:Hobbs expects one more week of strawberries, and says to look for raspberries and blueberries next. The blueberry season will last about a month.Bayfield Fruit Co. was established in 1963 operates on 50 acres of land. The farm has approximately 50 apple trees, so look for Haralson, McIntosh, and Honeycrisp this fall.The Midtown Farmer’s Market is open Tuesdays from 3-7 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Check out its website for more of what’s fresh at the market.If you like My Broadsheet, help us spread the word and tell your neighbors and friends. Continue Reading

Gandhi Mahal: Kickstarting a food revolution

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Ruhel Islam, owner of Gandhi Mahal, has a big vision – developing a closed-loop food system for his restaurant, while at the same time tackling issues of food justice – paying farmers fair prices for their food, increasing food access, and ensuring food security.With the help of like-minded people, Islam is well on his way. Last year, he started with two urban farm sites and grew 2,000 pounds of food. This year, he has 12 local sites – some large, some small – and is on track to harvest 10,000 pounds of food all within a two-mile radius of his restaurant.Islam with one of the chickens he raises at his home garden.The American DreamGardening and cooking has always been a natural fit for Islam, who learned to cook from his mother and grandmother in his home country of Bangladesh. He explained that when he moved to Minneapolis, owning a restaurant and farming had always been a part of his American dream.So it makes sense that while he’s celebrating the fifth anniversary of his restaurant, he’s also launching a Kickstarter with HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs) to develop a sustainable farm-to-restaurant model with a strong emphasis on food justice.Be The ChangeIslam had been aware of the issues related to the conventional food system in the U.S., but it wasn’t until a trip to Bangladesh that he was moved to take action. He saw first hand how our current food model affects people in other countries. Continue Reading

Midtown Farmers Market: Market report with Mao Lee

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In this week’s Market Report, we talk to Mao Lee at the Midtown Farmers Market to find out what’s new at her stand. She also offers tips on how to pick and prepare green beans. [Audio below]Quick tips from Mao Lee:To pick out the best beans, size isn’t as important as freshness. How to tell if a bean is fresh? If it bends like licorice, it’s old. Continue Reading

Community hops garden: A new brew in Longfellow

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An idea that’s been brewing for more than two years over at the Minnesota Beer Activists’ headquarters will take shape soon, when the group, lead by Executive Director Andrew Schmitt, will grab a tiller and garden tools to get the ground at 38th Street East and Dight Avenue ready for a new community hops garden.A Cooperative GardenThe garden, which Schmitt believes will be the first community hops garden in the nation, will operate similarly to a co-operative with gardeners sharing in tasks such as planting, weeding, and watering. In the fall, gardeners will harvest the hops and cut down the bines over several weeks.Schmitt explained that while craft and home brewing has seen a renaissance, beer makers have few resources for fresh, locally-grown hops. “Nothing is as good as taking those fresh cones and throwing them into your home brew,” said Schmitt. It lets you taste how “beer is supposed to be.” Hops gives beer a bitter note, and is the foil for the sweeter side of beer.The group plans to install the garden infrastructure this summer to prepare for next year’s growing season. While there are some materials needed to start the garden, the costs are minimal. Continue Reading

Midtown Farmers Market: Market report with Seed to Seed Farm

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Don’t miss our first-ever Market Report from the Saturday Midtown Farmers Market. We talked to Ariel Pressman of Seed to Seed Farm to find out what’s new at his stand, got tips on the best way to pick out a summer squash and prepare it, and learned a little bit more about where all of his beautiful produce is grown. We think it’s a good use of a little more than a minute of your time. [Audio below]Quick tips from Pressman:When looking for the perfect summer squash, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Big summer squash get pithy in the middle, so look for the smaller squash.A good way to enjoy a summer squash is to pop it on the grill or saute it with greens and garlic.Seed to Seed Farm is in Clear Lake, WI, about an hour away from the market. Continue Reading