Downtown Retail & Restaurant News

[VacantLuxuries]

This is wishful thinking given labor conditions and that many of these organizations are family run.

TIL Taco Johns and LeeAnn Chin are small struggling businesses we can't expect more than the bare minimum from. And I'm not particularly fond of 'labor conditions' as an excuse, given that plenty of establishments that have used that excuse for why their staffing and hours are lean have actually not been calling back any of the job applicants who apply. Turns out, if everyone expects so little of your service because of 'market conditions,' you can make more profit by doing nothing to improve your service. But that's neither here nor there.

Like, I don't expect every single store or kiosk to be open, but part of the tradeoff of ceding our street level retail to the skyway is that our downtown becomes useless if the skyway is closed. If it's not kept open and useful outside of working hours, it's a blight and no amount of boosterism or grandstanding about crime will change that.

It's just weird to me how much the downtown business interests meddle and complain about politics in Minneapolis but don't seem to consider things like "Hey, maybe if you adjusted lease rates in exchange for the restaurants in your skyway zone staying open late enough for the return commuters, the extra commerce and people milling about might make downtown feel more welcoming and somewhere people might want to spend time and money."

I'm not a fan of the skyway by any means, but if it's going to stay, actually commit to it being successful. Standardize the hours and make it useful. The halfway measure of 'let it languish and haphazardly close sections of it under the guise of public safety concerns' isn't working.

[Tyler]

I've probably posted this before, but my prediction is that in 20-30 years remote work will be viewed similarly to the way mid-century freeway construction is viewed today: as 'gee-whiz progress' that made life more convenient for a bunch of well off white people without any real consideration given to the destructive impacts on urban communities.

Dont agree. And if we are talking about dt specifically, I think its forced transformation into a mixed use neighborhood rather than a place people drive to to go to work is going to be hugely positive, eventually.

[amiller92]

The transition might be a bit painful though.

[tedlanda2571]

Dont agree. And if we are talking about dt specifically, I think its forced transformation into a mixed use neighborhood rather than a place people drive to to go to work is going to be hugely positive, eventually.

I actually agree with you, with emphasis on ‘eventually’. I don’t think downtowns will be ghost towns forever. Cities have evolved/reinvented themselves many times, and they’ll do it again.

That said, it could take a decade, maybe two to get back to levels of activity that are close to pre-Covid. We’re already coming up on three years since the pandemic hit and we are still in the fallout stage waiting for leases to expire, understand property tax/budget implications, etc.

A decade or two of a broke city, largely empty office buildings and storefronts, trying and failing at innovative concepts, and a generally tumultuous ‘rebirth’ will totally suck in my opinion.

Not to mention, again, that in the interim the ‘benefits’ of this transformation will accrue to a largely white professional class and the costs will be borne by those who are disproportionately non-white and less affluent.

[Didier]

What does a downtown population book actually look like, though? Presumably the highest demand for housing would be closer to the river or in places like Loring Park rather than in the CBD, especially if there’s less of a reason to “go downtown” with everyone working from home.

[grrdanko]

It appears Seven closed again.

[Bakken2016]

It appears Seven closed again.

At this point it is laughable, they should just stay closed.

[grant1simons2]

They were moving furniture out last I saw. I hope they take their sign down next!

[digdugsmug]

There is a new restaurant opening in the 5th floor space within The Guthrie. Looks like they are still working to fill the lower space previously occupied by Sea Change.

The fifth-floor cafe space has become Ovation, a new French-leaning full-service restaurant that opened with "A Christmas Carol" in mid-November. It replaces buffet service.

The restaurant is open to the public, but hours are dependent on the Guthrie's schedule. On theater nights, dinner reservations run from 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Ovation is just Act One for the Guthrie's dining options. The ground-level restaurant, formerly Sea Change, is expected to reopen with a different concept next year.

https://www.startribune.com/guthrie-the ... 600230973/

[mnmike]

Now Marshall’s too. Basically, nothing left for shopping.

[Bakken2016]

Now Marshall’s too. Basically, nothing left for shopping.

The core needs to replicate what the North Loop is doing, because retail is thriving in that part of downtown Minneapolis.

[grant1simons2]

This is rock bottom

[John]

Not completely rock bottom but close lol. At this point I doubt the Nicollet Mall Target store will close. It's still popular with nearby downtown residents and the office workers that remain. It does have an odd feeling on the second floor with so much merchandise locked in cabinets due to the high amount of shoplifting. But generally speaking, the store does feel much safer than the previous last couple years, with much less malingering of drug dealers, gang activity in the atrium and on the corner.

As long as the downtown residential community remains strong, I think there is hope for retail to come back in some form in the CBD. AS has been mentioned some conversion of office space to residential may happen. And there will probably be at least some modest improvement in office occupancy, however, clearly not anywhere near pre-covid. The Hines project at 10th and Marquette sounds like it will happen. So maybe some hope down the road...

[StandishGuy]

Don't worry! Mayor Jacob Frey is pulling together a task force of downtown leaders to figure out a strategy for retail revitalization... in December 2022. IMO the Macy's closure in 2017 may have been the time to pursue this...

[Didier]

I know some people don’t like Jacob Frey, but come on!

[alexschief]

I'm certainly skeptical that a task force of the same people who have been in positions of influence all along will bring the kind of fresh thinking that downtown needs, but...

Next week, Frey is scheduled to announce details about a "vibrant downtown storefront work group" of business and city leaders to address challenges.

The large department store model is a dying retail configuration, he said. He would like to see smaller, possibly locally owned retailers on Nicollet Mall. He also is interested to see retailers focused on experiences and is open to more service-oriented businesses such as dog day cares.

... the mayor does, at minimum, seem to have the right underlying idea here.

[VacantLuxuries]

Even the mayor's most ardent critics will agree that he's got the right connections with downtown power brokers to hopefully get results.

And they've got motivation to give him a win, as now that all meaningful power in Minneapolis is consolidated in Frey, they'll certainly want to avoid 2025 going in a more progressive direction.

[Mdcastle]

We're just figuring out now that large downtown department stores are a dying retail configuration? Thought that was obvious back in the 90s. Or at some point after Southdale was built.

[Corduroy]

Vincent, the new french casual concept in the Mill District Canopy hotel has had some movement the last couple nights. Last night, tables were set and it seemed as though they were prepping for...something - maybe a preview meal for friends and family? Will be curious to see when this opens. Little has been done to the interior space so they must be maintaining some Bacon Social House finishes.

[trkaiser]

I was to attend a preview night, and it's a really charming space with a good bit repurposed from the Bacon Social days. Vincent is such a good chef - and their pizza-like dish with onions and cream is amazing, as well as the famous Vincent burger, of course.