urbanMSP

Korean opening up in Uptown!

Very much looking forward to this:

http://www.citypages.com/restaurants/ho ... an-7906568

What I'd really like is a yaki-niku style place where you grill at your own table. Miss that.

That's a good spot. This is the empty storefront between Heartbreaker and McDonalds for those who can't place where "Design Within Reach" was.

I do find it a little odd that they'd spend all that extra cash to convert a non-restaurant space (basically 100% interior rebuild, plus ventilation equipment, etc.) instead of choosing one of the many vacant restaurant spaces. Not saying they would've taken over the Chiang Mai space (way too big, rents too high), but like half a dozen restaurants in LynLake closed in the last year...there are spaces available. Being on Hennepin right in the heart of Uptown is nice and all, but for the several hundred thousand dollar renovations, I'm surprised they didn't land in a space previously used to prepare food.

Typically, the landlord will pay a lot of those renovation costs and then recoup them over the term of the lease.

Wow, this is really great! That particular section of the block has always felt depressing. There's actually two storefronts between Heartbreaker and McDonalds though. It's obviously taking the larger of the two next to Heartbreaker. Is there currently anything in that tiny space next to McDonalds? Last occupant I remember was something like a small police department substation, if you could even call it that.

Jonathan Adler is closing, will likely relocate to another area.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/m ... ptown.html

http://mspmag.com/Blogs/Alishops/Januar ... than-Adler!/

If they stay in the twin cities the Galleria or another suburb will be the likely choice.

LynLake ramblings:

It sure seems like "Detour Mpls" is not opening in the former Serendipity Road space (next to the former Milios space). "For Lease" signs have been in the windows for quite some time. Milios is still papered over as well.

Maybe it's time for that whole building and its miserable billboard to finally come down.

Anyone do any digging on permit filings for the Country Bar space? I'd think they'd have applied for liquor licenses by now or will soon.

Further south, Defiant Tattoo is long gone too, along with previously departed Eye of Horus (relocated to Lake St) and more recently Caffreys. That is a sad, sad stretch and it really doesn't make any damn sense.

LynLake ramblings:

It sure seems like "Detour Mpls" is not opening in the former Serendipity Road space (next to the former Milios space). "For Lease" signs have been in the windows for quite some time. Milios is still papered over as well.

Maybe it's time for that whole building and its miserable billboard to finally come down.

Anyone do any digging on permit filings for the Country Bar space? I'd think they'd have applied for liquor licenses by now or will soon.

Further south, Defiant Tattoo is long gone too, along with previously departed Eye of Horus (relocated to Lake St) and more recently Caffreys. That is a sad, sad stretch and it really doesn't make any damn sense.

I think it's because it was sort of an Uptown hinterland for a long time, and attracted businesses that weren't that strong but could get by for awhile on the youth/alternative/hipster vibe or "novelty" factor that was so prominent in the area for so long. If you look around in street view there isn't much that is really all that compelling in this day and age. Some oddball specialty stores, a hipster bike/board shop, no real popular restaurants, tattoos, hair places, tobacco...it's all kind of a throwback to the 90s or early 2000s Uptown with an e-cig shop thrown in for good measure. Not that there's anything wrong with any one of those particular businesses (and a couple of them are probably still pretty strong), but together it's just kind of a dated node and not really where the city is now culturally. Plus that Milio's building makes one corner really dark and unappealing.

It's still a great location, and I would think a couple of really strong businesses would do well and make that intersection a lot stronger.

To expand on the thought of taking down the building and billboard. It's a very difficult spot to build a new building. It doesn't really have alley access, and it's right on a very busy corner. Getting construction equipment there would require a lot of work, might even have to close down part of the sidewalk. Or maybe it can be done with taking over a few parking spaces, but then Penn Cycle would be pissed off.

It's a fun thought though.

Maybe it's time for that whole building and its miserable billboard to finally come down.

The billboard should definitely come down, but the building I'm iffy. I was going to object that there are no other intact streetcar intersections on Lake, but 4th and Bloomington both have all four corners (albeit with some unspectacular examples). But LynLake is definitely the best-preserved and most distinguished of the bunch.

Take down the billboard, open the windows along Lake, and you'd have yourself a handsome building.

Is it structurally capable of having a few floors added to it?

Maybe something pre-fab to add a little modern taste to the corner

Or, maybe the additional floors don't have to be complete build-outs. Imagine something like Cowboy Slims' upper floor plans overlooking Lake & Lyndale.

Someone with a small law firm or start up company could potentially be tenants. Stack a couple of these on top, connect a stairway to the ground level and call it good.

Is the Milio's building old? It kind of looks like a newer concrete bunker.

I think it's because it was sort of an Uptown hinterland for a long time, and attracted businesses that weren't that strong but could get by for awhile on the youth/alternative/hipster vibe or "novelty" factor that was so prominent in the area for so long. If you look around in street view there isn't much that is really all that compelling in this day and age. Some oddball specialty stores, a hipster bike/board shop, no real popular restaurants, tattoos, hair places, tobacco...it's all kind of a throwback to the 90s or early 2000s Uptown with an e-cig shop thrown in for good measure. Not that there's anything wrong with any one of those particular businesses (and a couple of them are probably still pretty strong), but together it's just kind of a dated node and not really where the city is now culturally. Plus that Milio's building makes one corner really dark and unappealing.

It's still a great location, and I would think a couple of really strong businesses would do well and make that intersection a lot stronger.

It's got my tailor, my bike shop and my barber. All within a block. And I'd argue the new Volstead's is very fancy and chic. I love all the little storefronts everywhere.

I think it's because it was sort of an Uptown hinterland for a long time, and attracted businesses that weren't that strong but could get by for awhile on the youth/alternative/hipster vibe or "novelty" factor that was so prominent in the area for so long. If you look around in street view there isn't much that is really all that compelling in this day and age. Some oddball specialty stores, a hipster bike/board shop, no real popular restaurants, tattoos, hair places, tobacco...it's all kind of a throwback to the 90s or early 2000s Uptown with an e-cig shop thrown in for good measure. Not that there's anything wrong with any one of those particular businesses (and a couple of them are probably still pretty strong), but together it's just kind of a dated node and not really where the city is now culturally. Plus that Milio's building makes one corner really dark and unappealing.

It's still a great location, and I would think a couple of really strong businesses would do well and make that intersection a lot stronger.

It's got my tailor, my bike shop and my barber. All within a block. And I'd argue the new Volstead's is very fancy and chic. I love all the little storefronts everywhere.

There is still value there. Not saying that there isn't. Just offering a theory as to why there are several vacancies in such a prime location.

Is the Milio's building old? It kind of looks like a newer concrete bunker.

1937. Commercial buildings from that era are relatively rare (especially in this part of town). But look at the building facing Lake. The two windows between the Tobacco shop and the corner are filled in with a different, darker material (to cover Milio's kitchens, maybe?), and there are a variety of awnings and signs covering most of the facade, but you can see what's going on. Look at the fluted "columns" on either side of the corner door. Look at the very geometrical cornice, running uninterrupted around the corner. It's not a bad building, just short and neglected.

Is the Milio's building old? It kind of looks like a newer concrete bunker.

1937. Commercial buildings from that era are relatively rare (especially in this part of town). But look at the building facing Lake. The two windows between the Tobacco shop and the corner are filled in with a different, darker material (to cover Milio's kitchens, maybe?), and there are a variety of awnings and signs covering most of the facade, but you can see what's going on. Look at the fluted "columns" on either side of the corner door. Look at the very geometrical cornice, running uninterrupted around the corner. It's not a bad building, just short and neglected.

Wow, really interesting. Yeah you don't see much from that era, for obvious reasons.

Lynlake is in a transitional stage at the moment. The 70's and 80's it was a fairly seedy intersection. The 90's thru 2000's the Jungle moved in there was a slow but steady movement to fix up building and store and businesses that were more dependent on lower rent started to set up shop, Tatters and Vera's come to mind. Towards the end of the 2000's we had Lyndale rebuilt which helped make the sidewalks a much more pleasant place to walk. By 2010 you had places like It's Greek to Me having fixed up their own building and added an outdoor patio. The building next to the Jungle was fixed up. You had Herrmikers and Moto i invest big time in their business models. In the 20 teens we had the Muddy Waters, Hiede's, and a few more restaurants come in and change the dynamic's of the area from primarily retail, to more of an entertainment area. So rents started to go up. Once the greenway building boom started property taxes I'm sure went up even more as the land values continued to increase. Landlords had to raise rent both out of necessity and for some greed. Partly why we see store fronts remaining vacant for so long. At this point not every one is convinced that they can make money with the high rents.Time will tell how long it takes for the area to gain real confidence and knowing that they can make a decent ROI if they make a go of it. At this point we are not yet there.

One time Tabatha went there and fixed a hair salon.