[Archived] Uptown Retail & Restaurant News 2012-17

Calhoun-Isles, Cedar-Riverside, Longfellow, Nokomis, Phillips, Powderhorn, and Southwest
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jw138
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby jw138 » February 4th, 2016, 2:57 pm

Expanding on the idea of removing the driving lanes on Girard and converting to a pedestrian walkway... This would be a very good place to put in an elevated crosswalk on Lagoon to calm traffic. I'd keep the light there so traffic stops on a regular basis to allow pedestrian flow.
Expanding on that thought... Mine get kind of crazy sometimes... What about an elevated platform fully covering Girard stretching from the north side of Lagoon to south of Lake. It could make second floor connections at the theater, at Calhoun Square, the two buildings between them, and maybe a future hotel next to Calhoun Square. Throw in lots of green, outdoor seating at Stella's, Libertine, Scena, coup d'etat, etc, some public outdoor seating, and maybe a small outdoor performance area and you could have a pretty vibrant happening platform above street level. It'd certainly make Girard and part of Lake & Lagoon darker but that might simply just be presenting an opportunity for some cool darker store fronts with lots of neon signage.

A little crazy, but...

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Chip Whitley
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Chip Whitley » February 5th, 2016, 11:04 am

Girard can be super-calmed, but it shouldn't be pedestrian only. It provides access from westbound Lagoon to the Calhoun Square ramp without having to circulate through the already congested Henn-Lake intersection, and provides access from eastbound Lake to the Mozaic ramp without additional circulation.
While this is true, I pass this intersection a lot and really don't see that piece of Girard used very much. I think it might be for lack of signage but either way, traffic count on that piece of Girard must be relatively low. I don't think it would be the end of the world to get rid of it.
Rats, very true. I really really liked the thought of shutting down Girard to provide a pedestrian thoroughfare and huge green space. I think the building housing Stella's also uses Girard for freight deliveries.
That's their problem. I don't see why they couldn't use the McDonald's parking lot instead. I hate delivery trucks blocking streets.
Expanding on the idea of removing the driving lanes on Girard and converting to a pedestrian walkway... This would be a very good place to put in an elevated crosswalk on Lagoon to calm traffic. I'd keep the light there so traffic stops on a regular basis to allow pedestrian flow.
Expanding on that thought... Mine get kind of crazy sometimes... What about an elevated platform fully covering Girard stretching from the north side of Lagoon to south of Lake. It could make second floor connections at the theater, at Calhoun Square, the two buildings between them, and maybe a future hotel next to Calhoun Square. Throw in lots of green, outdoor seating at Stella's, Libertine, Scena, coup d'etat, etc, some public outdoor seating, and maybe a small outdoor performance area and you could have a pretty vibrant happening platform above street level. It'd certainly make Girard and part of Lake & Lagoon darker but that might simply just be presenting an opportunity for some cool darker store fronts with lots of neon signage.

A little crazy, but...
I agree it's a little crazy and will probably never happen but if done right, I think it could be really great. It could even be done as part of the 29th Street Reconstruction?

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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Blaisdell Greenway » February 5th, 2016, 11:20 am

Girard is your opportunity to build a REAL woonerf. I agree it's good for traffic circulation but we can calm it to the point where it's a sidewalk that cars can drive on.

The walkway idea is brilliant but would require a lot of maintenance just to keep it functioning with our brutal freeze/thaw cycle. The U of IL @ Chicago was master planned with these sort of walkways as an integral feature. UIC removed them in the 90s due to maintenance costs: http://netschcampus.uic.edu/6a.html

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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby lordmoke » February 5th, 2016, 11:33 am

A real woonerf is definitely the way to go for Girard. I'd ideally like to see the asphalt stripped off Girard to expose the (very much still extant) stone pavers and streetcar rails. With how much new construction is happening in the area, it would help give a little more historic weight, and I imagine it would help signal to drivers that "this is not a normal street."

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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby David Greene » February 5th, 2016, 11:39 am

A real woonerf is definitely the way to go for Girard. I'd ideally like to see the asphalt stripped off Girard to expose the (very much still extant) stone pavers and streetcar rails. With how much new construction is happening in the area, it would help give a little more historic weight, and I imagine it would help signal to drivers that "this is not a normal street."
Yep. Been sayin' that ever since Walkway was proposed.

Chef
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Chef » February 7th, 2016, 2:47 am


That's their problem. I don't see why they couldn't use the McDonald's parking lot instead. I hate delivery trucks blocking streets.
That is a liability nightmare for McDonalds. Food and liquor delivery drivers are moving around dollies with hundreds of pounds worth of food and liquor on them which makes them very prone to nasty slip and fall type accidents that end up on worker's comp. McDonalds would be foolish to allow anybody to park in their lot while delivering to other restaurants. They would end up getting sued because of kegs being delivered to Stella's.

seanrichardryan
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby seanrichardryan » February 7th, 2016, 10:39 am

Preserve access through a surface parking lot/ Drive-thru facility in perpetuity. Great idea.
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Re: Southside - General Topics

Postby bapster2006 » February 8th, 2016, 9:24 am

I was in the VFW at Lyn-Lake yesterday and they are getting ready to set up a new stage for a music venue in the big room next door to the bar. It sounds like they want to book music most Fridays and Saturdays anyway. Of course in the same room you have another bar with tables.

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jw138
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Re: Southside - General Topics

Postby jw138 » February 8th, 2016, 9:44 am

Speaking of Lyn-Lake, checked out Volstead's this weekend. Very cool place with nice atmosphere. Drinks were very good and the wait staff did a great job. On the negative side, they let way too many people in. It's no fun standing in a crowd of sardines constantly being bumped and spilling drinks. It'd be nice if they extended further into the basement with another room or two.

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Re: Southside - General Topics

Postby seanrichardryan » February 8th, 2016, 10:44 am

We tried to go a few weeks back, saw a line and turned back. I'm too old to wait in line to stand in a crowded bar.
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BoredAgain
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Re: Southside - General Topics

Postby BoredAgain » February 8th, 2016, 2:33 pm

Speaking of Lyn-Lake, checked out Volstead's this weekend. Very cool place with nice atmosphere. Drinks were very good and the wait staff did a great job. On the negative side, they let way too many people in. It's no fun standing in a crowd of sardines constantly being bumped and spilling drinks. It'd be nice if they extended further into the basement with another room or two.
I've been twice. The first time pretty early after they opened and it was crowded. I was also there last Sunday, decent crowd, but not too much. Non Friday/Saturday may work best if you don't want it packed.

The cocktails are quite good and the food is nice as well. Get a booth if you can.

twincitizen
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby twincitizen » February 9th, 2016, 3:21 pm

Dylan Thomas of SW Journal is tweeting that Caffrey's is not dead. They now have a real website up (for the first time ever): http://caffreysmpls.com/ and have joined Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaffreysMPLS

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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby grant1simons2 » February 9th, 2016, 3:25 pm


David Greene
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby David Greene » February 9th, 2016, 8:15 pm

Dylan Thomas of SW Journal is tweeting that Caffrey's is not dead. They now have a real website up (for the first time ever): http://caffreysmpls.com/ and have joined Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaffreysMPLS
What is the attraction? I wasn't particularly impressed when I went there. Maybe I got the wrong thing.

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Nathan
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Nathan » February 9th, 2016, 8:18 pm

Yeah, I'd suggest trying again... I also think it probably doesn't help that you (sorry to assume) Probably aren't out and about looking for food between 1 and 3 am that often, and many people have a drunken love for it? I think any restaurant willing to be open that late all the time is a real amenity for any neighborhood.

David Greene
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby David Greene » February 9th, 2016, 8:20 pm

I don't disagree about the late hours. No, I personally don't use them but I do appreciate the amenity. I guess I just wasn't knocked out of my socks by the food, which I'd expected given the comments here. Any suggestions of what I should try?

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Nathan
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Nathan » February 9th, 2016, 8:23 pm

I really like the Hot Shot Italian and the Blue Cow, they have an amazing Vegan 3 Pepper chicken, that I even love. I also have the Cherry Pepper Relish put on everything. it's amazing.

Chef
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Chef » February 12th, 2016, 9:59 pm

The attraction of Caffrey's is that they bring a hot sandwich to your front door at 2AM. People who work in the service industry and live in Uptown or Whittier loved them because they would still be delivering when we got home from work at midnight. When you have cooked or schlepped food all night, it is nice to be able to get a hot meal (that isn't pizza) from somebody else at odd hours.

Condo_Dweller
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby Condo_Dweller » February 12th, 2016, 11:58 pm

They attracted actors and workers from The Jungle and Huge Theater late at night.

go4guy
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Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby go4guy » February 13th, 2016, 11:50 am

When I worked at the Wells Fargo campus, it was always the first choice for delivery. Their sandwiches are amazing. 10 times better than Jimmy John's or Subway, and not much more expensive.


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