North Loop Neighborhood

[Record Machine]

So where should Acme Comedy go? I vote for somewhere on Hennepin or a warehouse district building on 1st Ave.

Somewhere more east on Washington would be nice. Maybe somewhere between Old Spaghetti Factory and Maxwell's.

[Silophant]

Did the Jack Links plan to take the remainder of MC² fall through? Acme would be a good addition to the theater district.

[mnmike]

Funny, I think a comedy club was originally in the plans for Block E. I agree it would go well there...though it seems they are already working on the Jack Links space. Though I thought they were looking for some state funding, and there was no bonding bill? Anyway, there is some build out going on in Mayo Clinic Square, I noticed this AM.

[UrsusUrbanicus]

Are any of the long-term zombie leases near Hennepin (e.g. Chevy's, Taste of Thailand) appropriately sized / arranged for a comedy club? Just spitballing here.

[acs]

Are any of the long-term zombie leases near Hennepin (e.g. Chevy's, Taste of Thailand) appropriately sized / arranged for a comedy club? Just spitballing here.

Solera. Not sure about the space requirements, but that building is multi level with a rooftop. The two you mentioned just came off zombie leases, so Taste is already getting redone as another Indian concept and Chevys finally got cleared out and a for lease sign put up.

[MNdible]

I'd assume that part of Acme's profitability is based on a captive audience phenomenon. Because it's sort of isolated, people attending a show there are more likely to do all of their drinking and eating on site -- if they were in a location with more plentiful restaurant and bar options, they'd lose quite a bit of that business.

[FISHMANPET]

Comedy clubs usually have a drink/food minimum, both to make sure you're intoxicated enough to laugh at jokes and also to drive revenue. So probably not much would change if they moved. You're not going to have dinner at a comedy club anyway, maybe a drink and an appetizer.

[MNdible]

I've only been to Acme once, so don't go by my experience, but I do have a few friends who go regularly and my comments above are based on how they usually attend shows. So, anecdata, take it for what it's worth.

[mnmike]

Are any of the long-term zombie leases near Hennepin (e.g. Chevy's, Taste of Thailand) appropriately sized / arranged for a comedy club? Just spitballing here.

Solera. Not sure about the space requirements, but that building is multi level with a rooftop. The two you mentioned just came off zombie leases, so Taste is already getting redone as another Indian concept and Chevys finally got cleared out and a for lease sign put up.

Darn it, I just reported this post and I meant to reply! Please disregard that!

On a random note, how did you know about these "Zombie leases"? I saw you mention it elsewhere too. It seems people have been asking about why these places were still vacant for years and I have never seen that answer come up until recently. You have been on the forum a while, right? Is that the case with the old musicland space too? Why would people pay for so many years and not just sublease or find a way out? Just curious.

[acs]

It's not hard to figure it out when you can walk by and see chairs, tables, furniture, signs and everything but the food still sitting there in the space over 3 years after it closed down. Getting a place cleared out and advertised again is a pretty good sign that the zombie lease expired. I have no idea why they don't cancel it though, but it's bad for downtown all around.

[mnmike]

I swear I have seen for lease signs in the Chevy's space over the years...Maybe a new company now, but I know there have been for lease signs before. Perhaps for sublease.

Anyhoo, Solera would make a great spot. There was rumored to be a buyer for that space not too long ago.

[grant1simons2]

There's that space next to Chevy's. Building with the spiraling staircase. The whole building is vacant.

[acs]

Anyhoo, Solera would make a great spot. There was rumored to be a buyer for that space not too long ago.

I've also though that building would be the perfect size for Pinstripes if they were still interested in downtown after getting shut out from 800 Washington. That or block E but unfortunately that space is slated for beef jerkey instead.

[mnmike]

There's that space next to Chevy's. Building with the spiraling staircase. The whole building is vacant.

That is the old Musicland space...been vacant what, 20 years?!

[John21]

I'd assume that part of Acme's profitability is based on a captive audience phenomenon. Because it's sort of isolated, people attending a show there are more likely to do all of their drinking and eating on site -- if they were in a location with more plentiful restaurant and bar options, they'd lose quite a bit of that business.

When I go to Acme we usually eat/drink somewhere on Washington and then walk over for the show. It seems to me, most people show up just for the show. It's not super busy at the bar beforehand. They do get a decent crowd at the restaurant as you get seated up front at the show if you buy dinner there.

[bapster2006]

Wouldn't it be wild if Acme got one of those big spaces at West End St. Louis Park?

[dingo]

I do think Acme likes being a little removed from the main strip.

I would love to see them fill one of those spots on North 3rd across from Twins stadium which is really close to the ABC ramps.

[min-chi-cbus]

Aside from being an asinine argument, this effort by Acme would set a precedent that would completely derail the city's goal to redevelop the majority of greater downtown's surface parking lots, so I have a hard time seeing them bend over for this.

There are a large number of surface parking lots another block or two away from this site, but even if these very parking spaces were vital to Acme's success as a business, why didn't Acme purchase the property so they could control the land use? I don't get their sense of entitlement to someone else's property.

[bapster2006]

You've hit the nail on the head here. Whether it is someone wanting to control somebody else's parking lot or objecting to cutting down a tree on somebody else's property, I have always found people have a sense of entitlement that way.

[minntransplant]

The Acme complaint about parking speaks to the mentality many still have about parking: if it isn't literally adjacent to or across the street from the destination, it doesn't exist.