Spyhouse Coffee expanded into Northeast Minneapolis this fall with a third location in The Broadway, a former warehouse at Central and Broadway redeveloped by
Peter Remes of First and First.
The warehouse building’s other tenants include
612 Brew,
Seventhsin (a creative agency), and the
Steller Hair Co.
Christian Johnson, who owns the Spyhouse coffeehouses along with
The Bad Waitress restaurant in South Minneapolis, scoped out plenty of other locations around town before settling on The Broadway, according to
The Journal. At the time, the building was undergoing early renovation work, according to the story.
Today, old barn wood salvaged from an Amish farm in Wisconsin, and the warehouse's original flooring and thick beams lend a rustic feel to the place.
A variety of antiques, including an old-fashioned roaster and custom-made furniture, add character to the space, as well.
Johnson plans to turn the Northeast shop into a roastery that will provide coffee to the other locations, according to
The Journal.
Chris Bubser, an architect and community activist who lives nearby in the Windom neighborhood, says the place makes a nice impression from the street. “I think the outside of the building looks great, and I'm glad someone saved and repurposed another cool old Northeast building,” he says.
He’s fond of the big floor-to-ceiling windows, which provide views of the interior from the outside.
The renovation respects the building’s original architecture, and “changes the whole dynamic of what was a pretty unappealing corner," Bubser says. "Those kinds of improvements may seem small, but the more developers make such improvements, the more momentum is built."
Source: Chris Bubser, community resident
Writer: Anna Pratt