Downtown Retail & Restaurant News

[seanrichardryan]

Praise Be!

[go4guy]

May the Lord open!

[MinnMonkey]

Looks like Bad Axe is opening a location in City Center.

https://badaxethrowing.com/locations/ax ... ty-center/

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[uptownbro]

Bad axe is a great time and I think it will draw people from all over. It will be a huge hit with those that live in downtown as well as those that work in the city.

[Silophant]

Ooh, fun. 8,000 sq feet must be one of the street level corners - wonder if it's the old Prime 6 spot, or on Nicollet?

[uptownbro]

Per axios a sports bar is going into the prime 6 space. Not sure if this would count as a sports bar but it also says saks off 5th has emptied there store

[MinnMonkey]

Ooh, fun. 8,000 sq feet must be one of the street level corners - wonder if it's the old Prime 6 spot, or on Nicollet?

From City Centers leasing site, looks like it will be on 6th Street next to the tower entrance. Sounds like the sports bar is a separate tenant (which is great news for City Center).

https://s3.amazonaws.com/transwestern-p ... el-one.pdf

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[Silophant]

Fascinating - the Hennepin half of the ground floor is fully leased, then. Wonder if there's any chance the ping-pong bar that was slated to go into the Embassy Suites space across 6th pre-pandemic could still happen?

[Silophant]

Noa, a restaurant focused on "seasonal California cooking", will be opening in the Mission space in the IDS Center this summer.

[Austinite]

Starbucks has cleared out of their Nic on Fifth space, so RIP to the leasing team for that building.

That was my fav Starbucks downtown because it wasn't in the skyway.

Unbelievable. What about the Starbucks in the skyway of the Westin? I would love to have a coffee shop back on Nicollet besides Caribou.

[Austinite]

Noa, a restaurant focused on "seasonal California cooking", will be opening in the Mission space in the IDS Center this summer.

Great news! Downtown Mpls. isn't dead - people haven't given up on it. Have confidence it will come back, hopefully stronger. Also see a new vegan restaurant is opening along First Avenue in the Knickerbox (sp?) Building.

[Austinite]

Fascinating - the Hennepin half of the ground floor is fully leased, then. Wonder if there's any chance the ping-pong bar that was slated to go into the Embassy Suites space across 6th pre-pandemic could still happen?

Can someone give more deats on the restaurant moving into the old Prime 6 spot. Couldn't find it on Axios....

Also - great about the axe throwing place - hope it lasts and is doesn't turnout to be a "gimmeck" that dies a quick death.

About the new bank moving into City Center - again - really tired of banks taking up retail space especially in a building that is supposed to focus on "retail". The skyway level of IDS, and of other buildings - are being eaten up by banks/credit unions, etc. NOT a draw, doesn't create any excitement/interest. At maybe open up a location on the street level, with own entrance. The core of Minneapolis is very much becoming like the Loop in Chicago - 8-5. Nothing to do past 5 pm during the weekday, nada to do on the weekends. Now the Loop is making efforts to turn itself around and attract more retail, restaurants, etc.

[Silophant]

Fascinating - the Hennepin half of the ground floor is fully leased, then. Wonder if there's any chance the ping-pong bar that was slated to go into the Embassy Suites space across 6th pre-pandemic could still happen?

Can someone give more deats on the restaurant moving into the old Prime 6 spot. Couldn't find it on Axios....

Also - great about the axe throwing place - hope it lasts and is doesn't turnout to be a "gimmeck" that dies a quick death.

About the new bank moving into City Center - again - really tired of banks taking up retail space especially in a building that is supposed to focus on "retail". The skyway level of IDS, and of other buildings - are being eaten up by banks/credit unions, etc. NOT a draw, doesn't create any excitement/interest. At maybe open up a location on the street level, with own entrance. The core of Minneapolis is very much becoming like the Loop in Chicago - 8-5. Nothing to do past 5 pm during the weekday, nada to do on the weekends. Now the Loop is making efforts to turn itself around and attract more retail, restaurants, etc.

I have not been able to find anything about the new sports bar, but the axe throwing place is a national chain that's had a successful location in the industrial part of NE Minneapolis for a few years now. No guarantees, but there's reason to believe it has staying power.

As for the skyways filling up with banks, I think that's good, actually - office tower skyways are always going to be deserted outside of business hours, so they might as well be filled with those kind of service businesses that won't be open outside of those hours anyway, which should then squeeze restaurants and retail down to the ground floor (ideally with doors to the street, USBank Plaza Chipotle) where they could have a chance on evenings and weekends. It's endlessly frustrating to me that the best donut shop downtown, Cardigan, is on the skyway level as far as possible from the street entrances. To their credit, they are still open on Saturdays, but imagine how much more weekend business they could do if their customer base wasn't limited to locals who already know it's there.

[DTSB]

Barrio on Nicollet Mall has a sign out front saying they are opening back up in June. ("Be back soon in June")

[DTSB]

I walked by the old Haskell's Wine Bar on Nicollet Mall today and saw people working inside and a sign saying Coconut Wisk Cafe is opening up May 20.

[dimabima]

I walked by the old Haskell's Wine Bar on Nicollet Mall today and saw people working inside and a sign saying Coconut Wisk Cafe is opening up May 20.

https://twincities.eater.com/2021/5/13/ ... onut-whisk

[Bakken2016]

Got a photo of it the other day!


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[Austinite]

Got a photo of it the other day!

Love it! It's people like the owners of this type of businesses who I believe will help bring back downtown.

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[Austinite]

Fascinating - the Hennepin half of the ground floor is fully leased, then. Wonder if there's any chance the ping-pong bar that was slated to go into the Embassy Suites space across 6th pre-pandemic could still happen?

Can someone give more deats on the restaurant moving into the old Prime 6 spot. Couldn't find it on Axios....

Also - great about the axe throwing place - hope it lasts and is doesn't turnout to be a "gimmeck" that dies a quick death.

About the new bank moving into City Center - again - really tired of banks taking up retail space especially in a building that is supposed to focus on "retail". The skyway level of IDS, and of other buildings - are being eaten up by banks/credit unions, etc. NOT a draw, doesn't create any excitement/interest. At maybe open up a location on the street level, with own entrance. The core of Minneapolis is very much becoming like the Loop in Chicago - 8-5. Nothing to do past 5 pm during the weekday, nada to do on the weekends. Now the Loop is making efforts to turn itself around and attract more retail, restaurants, etc.

I have not been able to find anything about the new sports bar, but the axe throwing place is a national chain that's had a successful location in the industrial part of NE Minneapolis for a few years now. No guarantees, but there's reason to believe it has staying power.

As for the skyways filling up with banks, I think that's good, actually - office tower skyways are always going to be deserted outside of business hours, so they might as well be filled with those kind of service businesses that won't be open outside of those hours anyway, which should then squeeze restaurants and retail down to the ground floor (ideally with doors to the street, USBank Plaza Chipotle) where they could have a chance on evenings and weekends. It's endlessly frustrating to me that the best donut shop downtown, Cardigan, is on the skyway level as far as possible from the street entrances. To their credit, they are still open on Saturdays, but imagine how much more weekend business they could do if their customer base wasn't limited to locals who already know it's there.

I think a major issue is signage for businesses downtown located in the skyways and the malls (whatever is left of them). Better exterior signage/marketing i.e. a skyway app/better wayward finding for the skyways. I also think the directory they came up with on Nicollet is a joke - tiny font - hard to read - and still gives no idea to where the businesses are located.Needed to be larger, perhaps with a block by block map. Ideally would have been electronic. What they have is also already outdated.

[Austinite]

Businesses should be allowed to put up something like what the IDS has for its major retail/restaurant tenants. Why not put up something permanent like they did for the Superbowl directing people to the skyways....