Arts and Culture : Development News

Defiant Tattoo, which relocated earlier in the year to 3014 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis, just opened up the coffee shop side of its business last month.

Emily Rampp, the office manager and a co-owner of the shop, says the tattoo parlor/cafe, which also has a fire pit and a patio, is the only one of its kind in the Midwest.

After researching it, Rampp found only one other similar place in the country, in upstate New York. "It's a rare thing," she says, adding, "That's why it took so long to open."

Although the tattoo studios moved into the space this past spring, the coffee shop was “more of a process,” given the time needed to line up the proper paperwork, she says.

Defiant Tattoo also remodeled the space, which cost $60,000. The 2,700-square-foot space had been vacant for a couple of years. Most recently, it housed a fitness studio. The shop has an open floor plan and 15-foot ceilings. “It’s very spacious,” Rampp says. “People can sit down and drink coffee and watch people getting tattoos.”

The coffee shop is also unique in that it serves a new product called Jet Fuel, an espresso drink with  double the caffeine of regular espresso, along with other coffee and tea drinks, plus the popular Heggies frozen pizzas. Soon, it plans to add food from Red’s Savoy, she says.

The shop’s walls are full of art and the space has been furnished with Asian antiques. “It’s very earthy,” she says. “I think it’s one of the nicest-looking tattoo studios around.”   

The shop is also hosting various events on an ongoing basis, including open mic nights, bands, movies, a clothing exchange, and even a painting night.

Previously, the shop had been near the corner of Lyndale Avenue and Franklin. Before that, it was downtown.

The location is ideal, says Rampp. Referring to neighboring businesses, she says, “We try to help each other out. We all seem to support each other.”


Source: Emily Rampp, office manager and co-owner, Defiant Tattoo
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Minneapolis Convention Center, in partnership with the city, recently issued a “Creative City Challenge,” calling for proposals for a temporary creative placemaking installation on the center’s plaza.

The installation should provide a portal into the local landscape, in harmony with the "City by Nature" brand that Minneapolis adopted last year, according to Jeff Johnson, the convention center’s executive director.

Proposals can be for any type of temporary structure. That being said, structures are required to be site-specific, interactive, and eco-minded. “It’s hard to describe what could come out of this,” Johnson says. “People might come up with something we never even though of.”   

The competition, which is meant to become an annual event, is open to local architects, designers, urban planners, engineers, artists, and others. It has a December 3 deadline.

Later in December, the public will vote on proposals, which will be posted on the convention center’s website.   

From there, the top five project teams will go on to draft full proposals that will be evaluated by a jury.

The winning proposal will get $50,000 to create the structure, which will grace the plaza next summer, according to convention center information.  

Johnson says the contest was inspired by the fact that the convention center has a “great, beautiful green space in an urban setting yet we didn’t see people using it,” he says. “We knew we needed to do something to activate that space.”

It’s also a creative way to showcase local talent. “I think it’s exciting to see what happens, what people can dream up and how the community reacts,” he says.

This speaks to the idea that the convention center is “all about building relationships,” he adds. “It ties into why we’re here and what we want to do.”

Source: Jeff Johnson, executive director, Minneapolis Convention Center
Writer: Anna Pratt

After undergoing an extensive renovation, earlier this month a hotel near the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus rebranded itself as The Commons Hotel.

Rockbridge Partners in Ohio took over the 304-room hotel that was once a Radisson, last March, according to the Star Tribune.

Although she didn’t have an exact figure, Christa Hudson, a spokesperson for the project, says millions of dollars went into converting the place into a boutique hotel.

To do so, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, the hotel’s management company, drew inspiration from the locale, she says.  

Noble House wanted to “translate more of the area and reflect Minneapolis,” she says.

The result is a kind of industrial schoolhouse look, or “geek chic,” that relates to the backdrop of the nearby University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus. “The whole aesthetic is about learning and discovering,” she says.  

Design aspects like an argyle pattern that runs throughout the building, leather-upholstered furniture, a library lounge, and a fire pit create a studious yet comfortable feel, she says.

Also, the hotel will be offering special events like "alchemist mixology" lessons, “Words with Friends”-themed happy hours, and promotional packages with area cultural institutions.

These include a “geek to chic makeover at the Aveda Institute headquarters, Science Buzz meeting at the Science Museum of Minnesota, personal story and book creation at Loft Literary Center and tour of the world’s largest Sherlock Holmes exhibit at the University of Minnesota,” a prepared statement reads.  

The idea is to encourage people to explore the area, Hudson says.

Additionally, the hotel’s restaurant, the Beacon Public House, which will open in November, will be a gastropub with a locally sourced drink and food menu. Besides serving hotel guests, it’ll be a draw for people who live in the area, she says.

All in all, “The idea is that it’s not just me staying at The Commons,” she says. “It’s me in Minneapolis.”

Source: Christa Hudson, spokesperson from the Zimmerman Agency for The Commons Hotel
Writer: Anna Pratt

Marie Philippi, a self-taught baker who co-owns the Taste of Love Bakery, had been working out of a commercial kitchen in New Hope for nearly a year when she decided to find a permanent home for the business.

The custom bakery plans to open in the next few weeks at 870 Dodd Rd. in West St. Paul, where it straddles several St. Paul neighborhoods.

Often, she passed by the corner building at the intersection of Annapolis, Dodd, and Chariton streets, which had long been a revolving door for various businesses.

Even before she was looking for retail space, Philippi, who lives nearby, wondered what could be done at that corner to turn it around. At one point, the building faced condemnation. “The corner is busy and it had potential,” she says. “I know there’s a lot of people out walking all the time.”

However, getting the space up to par was an ambitious undertaking.

For starters, the building’s façade needed a facelift, while inside, everything had to be gutted — a $25,000 project, she says.  

Previously, the building’s exterior had cracked stucco, while rotten wood and overgrown trees also caused problems.

Inside, floors had been in disrepair, walls were filled with graffiti and the windows were painted green, “So nobody could see in,” she says.  

New electrical systems and plumbing had to be installed. Furthermore, the bakers are joining two separate spaces in the building. “We’re cramming a lot into a small building,” which is 2,400 square feet, including the basement, she says.  

To keep costs down, “We bought a lot of things used,” she says. “We’ve refurbished those things.”

Also, she was able to raise $8,000 for equipment through an Indiegogo online campaign.  

Ultimately, she sees the bakery as a destination for area families, which she says is a huge need in this part of town.  

As such, the bakery includes a play area for children, along with child-sized furniture and kid-friendly menu items in addition to the retail area and lounge. “I wanted a kid-friendly space and an area where you could come to relax or work,” she says.  

Source: Marie Philippi, co-owner, Taste of Love Bakery
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Broadway, named for its location at 945 Broadway in Northeast Minneapolis, had a groundbreaking celebration last week.

Local developer Peter Remes and his company, First & First, LLC, are behind the $4 million renovation of the former Twin City Paper building, according to the Star Tribune.

It’s a classic warehouse with large windows, hardwood and polished cement floors, brick walls, high ceilings, old-growth timber beams and more, according to the related Java Properties website.

So far, building tenants include 612Brew and Sevnthsin, a digital creative company, which will be joined by other to-be-determined firms and a café and fitness center, according to the Star Tribune.

The Broadway will also have special features such as a vertical glass gallery showcasing artwork, an outdoor greenspace with an amphitheater and water fountain that includes stones salvaged from the old Metropolitan Building, which once stood in downtown Minneapolis, the story states.

City Councilman Kevin Reich says the project “fits in well with the redevelopment efforts in the area around some older brick and timber manufacturing buildings.”

He’s glad to see this type of project on a prominent corner that serves as a gateway into the neighborhood. “The developer is doing a polished job,” with a generous courtyard and commons area, he says, adding, “It shows real insight from the developer to create a sense of place.”  

The mixed-use project brings together light industrial uses with creative ventures, a move that complements the Northeast Arts District, he says.

It’s part of an emerging brew district that includes the Dangerous Man Brewing Co., Indeed Brewing Company, 612Brew and Northgate Brewing. “It’s the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” Reich says.  

The project is planned to wrap up in 2013.

Source: Kevin Reich, city council member, Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

On Oct. 11, MidModMen + friends, which previously had an online-only presence, opened at 2401 University Avenue West in St. Paul.

MidModMen offers vintage and modern home décor, including furniture, lighting, and decorative items, its Facebook page reads. The shop is open on weekends and for special events.  

Over the past year, the space had been used as a pop-up shop, as a part of a collaboration of the Starling Project and Saint Anthony Park Community Council.

The Starling Project brings together entrepreneurs, artists, and small organizations with building owners for “meanwhile uses” of vacant storefronts and spaces along University Avenue during Central Corridor light rail construction, its website reads.

Neal Kielar, who co-owns MidModMen with Jon Mehus, found the space with the Starling Project’s help. 

The 1,200-square-foot space seemed like the right fit, and it helps that it’s part of the neighborhood's in-progress Creative Enterprise Zone.

Several other similar stores, including Succotash, are nearby. “We’re part of this concentration of retailers that deal in vintage furniture, décor, art, ephemera and kitsch,” he says. “Synergy seems to be there.”  

The store plans to stay in the space through the end of the year, though it could stick around longer if all goes well, according to Kielar.

“We’re finding ourselves part of the revitalization of an important commercial corridor,” he says. “It feels like how Northeast [Minneapolis] felt 15 years ago.”

He was pleasantly surprised by the amount of foot traffic in the area. Already, the store has had strong sales. “We’re happy with the way it’s working out,” he says.  

The store is going for a friendly, personable vibe, where “You can hang out and talk and learn new things,” he says, adding, “Shopping doesn’t always have to be about purchasing.”  

“We have a certain aesthetic or design point of view and we love when people share an interest or passion in that,” he says.
 
Source: Neal Kielar, co-owner, MidModMen + Friends
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul Parks and Recreation is looking for ideas for redeveloping a long-vacant warehouse building at the entrance of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.

It’s asking for “requests for interest” or creative proposals from development teams, to be filed by Oct. 30, according to parks information.

In the future, the building could be an interpretive center for the sanctuary, with classrooms and possibly even a performance space, says Brad Meyer, a spokesperson for the parks.

“We’re going through this process to determine what kind of interest might be out there in redeveloping the current building,” he says.   

This is part of the process of due diligence “in assessing what market may exist for reuse, and what the next steps will be for the site,” he adds.

Part of what makes the vintage building attractive is the fact that it’s “structurally sound.” It includes features such as a first-floor “walkout” to the nature sanctuary, masonry walls, and concrete floors with supporting beams and columns, according to parks information.

The building also “offers excellent views of the Mississippi River corridor and downtown Saint Paul skyline,” while contaminated soils on the property have already been cleaned up, according to the same information.  

On the downside, however, the building, an empty “shell,” lacks heating and cooling systems and windows.  

Meyer says the building is a unique asset to the park system, with plenty of potential, thanks in part to its proximity to other big projects in the area, including the renovated Union Depot, the planned Lafayette Bridge crossing, and the future Lowertown ballpark.
 
Source: Brad Meyer, spokesperson, St. Paul Parks and Recreation
Writer: Anna Pratt

Just over a week ago, the Butter Bakery Café relocated blocks away from 36th and Grand Avenue in Southwest Minneapolis, to 37th and Nicollet Avenue.

The bakery is planning a grand opening for Oct. 23 in collaboration with the Nicollet Square building, for which it’s a partner, according to owner Dan Swenson-Klatt.

Butter is housed within the three-story Nicollet Square, which provides supportive housing for young people who are at risk for homelessness, along with a chiropractor and the nonprofit organization, Twin Cities RISE!, which deals with job training.

As a part of that partnership, the bakery has taken on a couple of apprentices who live in the building, and it plans to bring on two more young people in the near future, he says.

“I’ve always thought of this as more than a little coffee shop,” he says. “This gives me more of that feel, that it’s part of something bigger.”   

However, the bakery is still getting settled into the space. It’s a bit like moving into a new home, “where you live out of boxes for awhile,” he says.

So far, the change has been good. He’s hearing from regulars that “It’s so big and so bright,” in comparison to the old space, but “It still looks like Butter.”  

Before, the bakery was too cramped, both in terms of seating and space for running the bakery and grill at the same time.

Now, people can opt for the more informal café area of the bakery or they can go for the dining space. “No one has to feel like they’re being pushed out,” he says.

The space, which started off as an empty shell, was designed specifically for Butter, with room for growth.

One custom touch that he hopes personalizes the space includes two murals that line the restroom walls.

The murals picture the countryside surrounding the creamery where the bakery gets its butter and the scene outside of Butter’s door. “It’s a way of connecting with the Butter community,” Swenson-Klatt says, adding, “We were always meant to be a neighborhood spot.”  

In the future, he hopes some sort of garden might spring up on the empty lot behind the building.

Source: Dan Swenson-Klatt, owner, Butter Bakery Café
Writer: Anna Pratt    

Last weekend, the Minnesota Museum of American Art temporarily opened up its in-progress “Project Space” as a part of the Saint Paul Art Crawl.

MMAA Executive Director Kristin Makholm says it was an opportunity to “start letting people know where we’re going to be, and to do some creative placemaking."

The museum’s grand opening is planned for Nov. 16, with a show of landscape paintings called “Painting the Place Between.”

Right now, the 3,700-square-foot space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which will also offer high-end housing, is still under construction, she says.

Previously, the museum, which rented space from the Ramsey County Government Center, relied mainly on traveling exhibits.

Although MMAA still plans to do traditional exhibits, “We’re expanding on what an exhibit is,” she says. “It’s about events and programming,” which encourages participation and incubation.

The museum’s “Project Space” will feature experimental works.

Part of the idea of opening up the “Project Space” during the art crawl was to get feedback on “how we can engage people in different ways,” she says.  

Curator Christina Chang is “coming up with intriguing ways to get feedback, to have people respond to things in the gallery,” she says.

Many people have said they want to see local artists showing at the MMAA, and they want to meet them, too. This seems to align with ‘eat local,’ ‘shop local’ trends. “People want to see more work that’s being created in the community,” she says. “It’s the power of local art.”

It’s a niche that MMAA hopes to respond to in creative ways. “We’re excited to start this new period of our resurgence back into the cultural life of St. Paul,” she says.


Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt

Driftwood Community Arts, a unique blend of art gallery, studio, and learning center, had its grand opening in St. Anthony Park in St. Paul on Oct. 6.

In the recent past, the space housed the Sacred Paths Center.

Driftwood’s seven founders came together because they wanted to expand on their experience in a master’s program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, according to Carina Eugenio, a manager and founder of the place.

“It was a really great collaboration,” she says, adding, “We worked well together.”

Reflecting that back-and-forth, the studio is open, with no partitions. The idea is that “We can talk together when we need to, and feed off each other,” she says.  

Before the art center opened, the space was built to suit. As such, some walls were taken down to “fit the collaborative setting that we wanted,” she says. “There were many discrete spaces that we knew didn’t work for what we wanted to do.”  

Right now, the place is offering mainly one- or two-day workshops, but it’ll evolve based on the community’s interests. “We want to see what the community is interested in learning about and what we can learn from them as well,” Eugenio says, adding that many classes will be team-taught.  

“Art for everyone,” which was the theme of Driftwood’s opening, is a mission statement. “It’s not just a current goal of ours, but a continuous goal in terms of how the gallery and studio work together to create affordable and accessible art,” she says.  

This extends all the way down to how the group is presenting artwork, with no differentiation between pieces that are more or less expensive. “We want to have it all work together and be appreciated on the same level,” she says.  

While the group worked on the space, including the garden on the lot, “There was a lot of interest,” she says. “A lot of people were saying they’ve been waiting for something like this to come around.”

Source: Carina Eugenio, operational manager/partner, Driftwood Community Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Coffee Shop Northeast, named for its Minneapolis neighborhood, recently wrapped up an expansion project that more than doubled its square footage.  

Rich Horton, an owner of the coffee shop, says the expansion was much needed. “We were getting so busy, we were packed and there’d be no place to sit,” he says.   

That, along with the idea of growing the business, prompted the owners to take over the space that opened up when the neighboring tenant, EMI Audio, moved to Robbinsdale. The additional room, which gives the coffee shop over 2,000 square feet compared with the 800 square feet it had before, allows for occasional events, such as poetry readings and live music.

A physical separation between the old and new space gives people the flexibility to take part in events or to choose a quieter nook.

In addition to new tables and chairs and couches, a 12-seat community table has already turned out to be popular among large groups.  

The coffee shop was able to expand its kitchen and add storage space as well. Horton says that food items have been more in demand than he would’ve guessed when they were added to the offerings at the coffee shop, which the owners took over from Audubon Coffee two years ago.

The shop also added a decorative brick wall, which gives it a more finished look, he says.
The newer area is yellow and a light shade of brown, creating a subtle change in mood from the storefront area, which is green and brown, according to Horton.

Although he couldn’t give an exact figure, the project, it totaled more than $50,000, he says.
 
“We’re really happy with how it turned out,” he says, adding that feedback from the community has been positive.

Source: Rich Horton, co-owner, Coffee Shop Northeast
Writer: Anna Pratt

This summer, a group of students from Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) transformed an empty lot downtown into an urban farm.

A number of students who were interested in gardening started up the MCTC Urban Farm Collective, which is extracurricular, according to Katherine Kragtorp, the group’s advisor.  

Although it’s tough to find a spot to garden downtown, the student group, which has 11 core members, connected with Brian Short, a private landowner. He let them use a vacant lot alongside Gethsemane Episcopal Church for the urban farm. 

The students began working the land earlier in the summer, putting in long hours and even expanding Gethsemane’s small garden nearby. “It really was mind-boggling what these students did, coming together, wanting to make this work,” she says. 

Today, the greenspace is divided into a community garden and a separate area for six-foot-by-six-foot individual plots. It also has a butterfly-shaped sensory garden that’s filled with herbs and a children’s section.

In the community garden, which has all kinds of fruits and vegetables, including squash, carrots, beets, pumpkins, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, and more, “The goal is to raise food and get fresh produce to those experiencing food insecurity,” she says. “They want to make it part of the community.”  

The students are working with the church to provide fresh produce to its weekly food shelf. Already, the group has donated more than 500 pounds of food to the food shelf.

Even passersby have gotten involved. “What’s neat about this is that it’s a point where the community can come together and make connections with [people from] all different backgrounds,” she says.

Soon, the urban farm collective hopes to set up “hoop houses,” or miniature greenhouses, in the garden, to extend the growing season, she adds.

Source: Katherine Kragtorp, MCTC’s Urban Farm Collective
Writer: Anna Pratt

In the past, a busy railroad underpass in Minneapolis’s Como neighborhood was dimly lit. Often its shadowy retaining walls were vandalized.

Today, the underpass is an attraction, with a colorful mural that conveys the neighborhood's vibe. 

A group led by representatives of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus's student and community relations office created the "gateway mural." It welcomes people to and from Como and campus, explains Ryan Pusch, who works for the university’s student and community relations office.

The mural’s design was inspired largely by feedback from the neighborhood, he says. It includes bright colors, bicyclists, joggers, a train and local landmarks such as the Stone Arch Bridge and Bunge Tower. Children’s illustrations are also incorporated onto one wall.

For example, one child’s work shows the earth, with a pair of hands around it. “It symbolizes caring about the world and the larger community,” Pusch says. 

Local artists Sara Udvig and Carly Schmitt, who came up with the design, have also worked with dozens of volunteers who’ve shown up for community painting days in recent weeks. “I’m glad we got to work with them and that they’ve stuck with it,” he says.    

Although the final touches are still being added, “It feels good to see it on the walls,” he says, adding that the creation of the mural has been a lengthy process. That has to do with the fact that the nearly $12,000 in grant money trickled in sporadically.   

The Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA), the fiscal sponsor of the mural, and the Student's Coop have helped bring in funding for the project and volunteers.  

“I’m proud of what we were able to cobble together over the past year,” Pusch says.

It's already a success, according to Pusch. “A lot of people are drawn to it,” he says, adding, “All of the responses we’re getting to it are ecstatically positive.”  

Source: Ryan Pusch, student and community relations, University of Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt

A group called Cash Mob St. Paul emerged earlier this summer as a creative way to support local businesses.

Although a cash mob is similar to a flash mob, it’s not about breaking into dance in an unexpected venue, but bringing businesses an influx of paying customers. In some ways, it builds on the "shop local" trend, explains the group's founder, a blogger who uses the name Ima B. Musing.

“The Cash Mob is about being conscientious about where the dollar goes,” she says. “We want to spend it on local entrepreneurs.” Those mom-and-pop businesses, with smaller profit margins, deeply appreciate the edge, she says. “One nice thing is that you can literally see the impact you’re having,” she says, adding that it cycles back through the community.   

In starting up the group, Musing was inspired by Cash Mob Minneapolis, which she used as a model. She wanted to expand its reach into the east metro area, she explains. So far, the 172-member St. Paul group has “mobbed” Homi Mexican restaurant, Something New in the Park gift shop, Midway Book Store and On’s Kitchen Thai Cuisine.

“I checked and each of the businesses have reported an uptick in business,” she says.   

Mob events have specific meeting times, but people can visit a business according to their own schedules, too. Musing spreads the word through various social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and Meetup.

For those who have shown up at the event time, “I’ve found that people seem to enjoy the social aspect,” she says.  

The rules are pretty open-ended, but participants are encouraged to spend around $20 during each mob.

The group’s next event is planned for Oct. 23, though the details are still being worked out.

In general, the group wants to spread the wealth. “We want to move it around,” Musing says, adding, “There are so many wonderful businesses all over the place.”

Similar groups have popped up elsewhere, including ones that focus on vegetarian fare and Minnesota-made products. “I think the more the merrier,” she says, adding, “I’m just doing this as a volunteer, as kind of a civic duty,” she says.


Source: Ima B. Musing, blogger, St. Paul Cash Mob
Writer: Anna Pratt

If a proposal to renovate the vintage Hollywood Theater in Northeast Minneapolis “pencils out,” financially, local developer Andrew Volna could make an offer on it within the coming weeks.

For the moment, the theater’s future is still up in the air.

Volna, of Noisland Industries and Apiary Workspaces, is working with Meghan Elliott, an engineer whose company is Preservation Design Works, to come up with a plan to buy the city-owned building.

They sought feedback from community members at a Sept. 10 public meeting with the Audubon Neighborhood Association at the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church.

Right now, they’re still doing their due diligence to figure out whether a rehab project is doable, he says.

However, they wanted to gauge the neighborhood’s response before moving forward.

“It will be an extremely expensive project to do,” Volna says. This has partly to do with the fact that it’s an historic building that comes along with preservation requirements.

At the same time, “There’s significant damage to the inside of the building,” he says, adding, “It’s a theater on the outside only.”

Although it’s unclear what kind of tenant would go into the building, “I’ve always thought of something in the creative industry that would benefit from the unique features"--features that include a large open space and Art Deco design elements.

At the meeting, people were receptive to the idea. “It would be a huge net gain for 29th and Johnson," he says. "The commercial node is stuck until the south end of the block gets dealt with.” In his view, “It could bring business to the area, and bring the south end back to life.”

However, because of the unknowns, he's proceeding with caution, Volna says.


Source: Andrew Volna, Noiseland Industries
Writer: Anna Pratt