urbanMSP

Above the old Refinery space, yes. The 1st floor will be The Hub leasing center for now. Still have no idea what Wally's is going to be, but they're hiring. There's furniture and kitchen fixtures installed in Cove, Num-mi, Burrigato and Kung Fu Tea. Kung Fu Tea actually has these big circular Japanese heads that are back-lit, so that's cool.

Also oh dear God. That red on a 20" monitor is blinding, you're right. I linked it while on mobile.

Burrigato's actually open. Had their Thai basil pork on Monday.

Oh, cool! I've been writing a paper for the past 2 days, so I really don't know what's going on.

So I hadn't been paying attention, and I just saw the Num-mi store front today. Any chance that's the Bun Mi people?

California based 'Tasty Pot' coming to the former Wally's space!

https://www.tastypotusa.com/

Looks like the Library is now going to be a Pourhouse Dinkytown. Huh.

Magus is out too. Moving to an unknown location.

So does that mean the downtown location would close?

Expresso Royale closed a couple of days ago:
http://www.mndaily.com/article/2017/12/ ... -on-dec-21

It sounds like nearby coffee shops were hurting them competition-wise *starbucks, cough, starbucks*.
It's too bad. It was nice having a coffee shop open until midnight in the neighborhood.

Actually it wasn't nearby coffee shops. All of the Espresso Royales in Minneapolis and St. Paul are now closed. Espresso was packed every day of the week and sales weren't the problem. This is coming from someone who actually talks to then managers there. They aren't disclosing why.

They're moving to South Dakota for the tax breaks, a source tells me.

Yeah, I was suspicious of the 'too much competition' excuse. The downtown one was always fairly full as well.

On another note, Num-mi is open after putting their sign up Fall 2016. Over 12 months for a small restaurant, better be worth it!

I tried Num-mi on Wednesday as was really disappointed. I'd been hoping this was a replacement for Bun Mi, but it's not anywhere near that. The bread was good, but the ingredients were meh, lacking flavor and not having a very good combination of vegetables. Another member of our group tried their Pho, and it was even more disappointing, being salty and not very flavorful, and served in a plastic bowl. If you're in Dinkytown and want a banh mi, the Cove has a much, much better banh mi and about a dollar more. And of course Bona is only a short walk over in Stadium Village, and has delicious pho (and banh mi on Wednesday!).

Given how long it took them to open, I don't think the owners have it together. They're also in a huge space, so their rent can't be cheap. The menu is tiny and blah. I give them until July. Too bad, they seem like nice people and a good Vietnamese soup-and-sandwich place could certainly do well here.

Ah this sucks. I think 5 new restaurants opened in the time it took them to open their space. I have faith that it could be filled up fast even if it did bust.

Rumors around that there may be a similar thing at Espresso Royale that happened at Loring Pasta. Meaning the staff may get the space and reopen. Probably under a different name.

Also, the post office is moving onto 5th St between the Cove and Great Clips. Idk what's happening with Hideaway but they may be taking over that whole space along 4th. The sales must be good with the popularity of the devil's lettuce on campus.

Vescio's is closing in March. My family has been going there for about 55 years before athletic events, I will miss their sauce!

With Vescio’s closed in SLP this was the last one, correct?

With Vescio’s closed in SLP this was the last one, correct?

Yep, this was the last location that was open.

Raising Cane's opening a second location where Procuts used to be in Dinkydome. Also Icchido Ramen is open where Baldy's was. Still nothing rumored for the CVS space though

Wow, the students must really love Cane's (full disclosure, it's my favorite chicken joint. I'm not judging). Cane's only has 5 locations around town and they are adding a second at the U!?!? wow.

With Vescio’s closed in SLP this was the last one, correct?

Yep, this was the last location that was open.

There is still the stand at the fair.