Streetz American Grill opens second location

Posted on December 9, 2013 by

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reports that a second Streetz American Grill is now open in Hopkins, at the Highway 7 and Hopkins Crossroads intersection.

Streetz is a fast-casual concept by owner Paul Harmon, who opened the first location in Bloomington on Aug. 1. The restaurants serve classic American street food, Harmon said.

Menu items include Chicago hot dogs, Coney dogs, Philly cheese steaks, gyros and burgers. Most items are around $7.

The Hopkins location opened in early December, which Harmon said was later than expected because his furniture shipment was delayed. He wants to open five or six locations, but doesn’t have any immediate plans for a third.

Posted in Hopkins

Lyn-Lake Brewery Hoping to Open in Uptown

Posted on December 9, 2013 by

A new brewery/taproom, Lyn-Lake Brewery, is hoping to open in Uptown, serving seasonal, gluten-reduced, organic beers, reports Southwest Journal.

Co-owners Mark Anderson, Paul Cossette, and Joel Carlson (who will also be head brewer) have put in an application to the city. The space is located at 2934 Lyndale Avenue, better known as the Theater Antiques Building, which has been vacant for more than five years.

In terms of the space, they’re planning to put the brewery in back and build a taproom in front, as well as a rooftop patio. According to Southwest Journal, they’re looking to build concrete floors, exposed ceiling, a restored marquee, and operable windows. They’re hoping to create a very local brewery experience and are currently looking for local farmers to grow their organic hops; they also want the brewery to serve as a CSA pickup site in the neighborhood. If they get city approval, they’re hoping to open in June of 2014.

Posted in Uptown

Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq represents Panda Express in 3 new deals

Posted on December 9, 2013 by

Panda Express was recently represented by Kim Meyer and Tom Martin of Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq in the lease of three new locations in Minnesota. The first of these new restaurants opened in Mankato at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Raintree Road in late November, while free-standing restaurants in Owatonna and Brooklyn Center are expected to open by the end of the year.

2013 marks Panda Express’ 30th Anniversary. Founded in 1983, with close to 1,600 locations in 42 states, Panda Express is part of Panda Restaurant Group, the world leader in Asian dining experiences. The successful chain of concepts includes Panda Express, Panda Inn and Hibachi-San. Panda Express is best known for its wide variety of original recipes including their famous Orange Chicken®, Beijing Beef™, SweetFire Chicken Breast®, Honey Walnut Shrimp™ and Shanghai Angus Steak™.

Posted in Brooklyn Center, Mankato

Vacant Site Prompts Bar Fight

Posted on December 4, 2013 by

Twin Cities Business writes that redevelopment plans in south Minneapolis often rankle neighbors, even when the property in question is a boarded-up, years-vacant gas station.

The former 7-Eleven/SuperAmerica at 4000 Lyndale Ave. S. was shuttered in 2006 and sat empty throughout the recession. But when plans surfaced last spring to convert the eyesore into a neighborhood pub, some residents organized to raise concerns about parking and late-night hours.

The site is just 13 blocks south of a proposed Trader Joe’s grocery store, which Minneapolis neighbors helped defeat in 2012. Due west, in Linden Hills, developer Mark Dwyer pared his condo plans after objections about his project’s scale.

At the SA site, the upshot was that Paul Dzubnar, who owns the St. Paul-based Green Mill pizza chain and Crooked Pint Ale House in downtown Minneapolis, had to scale back his plans before moving forward.

“We’re going to close a lot earlier during weekday nights. We shrank the size of the restaurant,” says Dzubnar, who is also a partner in the Town Hall Brewery group. “It’s taken a lot of time. It took a while to work with the neighbors.”

Would neighbors have preferred that the corner lot remain empty? Continue reading →

Posted in Minneapolis

Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq represents Sola Salons in signing lease in Uptown

Posted on December 4, 2013 by

Sola Salon Studios was represented by Ned Rukavina, Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq, in the lease of 6,000 SF at 3034 Lyndale Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood. The hair salon plans to open in early 2014.

Sola Salon Studios® was established in 2004 and now has over 100 locations open nationwide. It is an innovative salon model in which experienced hairdressers, estheticians, nail stylists, massage therapists and other like-minded salon professionals come together under one roof to take their careers to the next level. To date, they have provided more than 3,000 professionals with premium, individual salon spaces in which they own and operate high-quality salons. They are the largest, fastest-growing salon studio business in the country.

Their locations in Minnesota currently include Burnsville, Edina, Maple Grove, Rochester, Roseville and Woodbury.

Posted in Uptown

E-Cigarette Retailing Is Booming

Posted on December 4, 2013 by

Twin Cities Business reports that the emergence of e-cigarettes has sparked the growth of roughly 25 such retailers in the state, most in the last year, says Chris Tholkes, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Health.

Since e-cigarettes are not yet regulated, their risks are largely unknown. Pressure has been building for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate. Deb Morin, owner of E-Cig Crib, says she, for one, is “all for regulation . . . I welcome it” for the quality control it would force on the marketplace, as well as regulation’s tendency to push out shady operators.

Morin says quality control is what distinguishes the array of entrants in the category. Lesser operators “think it’s easy and quick money,” she says. Her hottest sellers are starter kits, which come equipped with supplies for two e-cigarettes. With a price tag of $40 to $70, Morin sells around $3,000 worth of them per month. She says the business is profitable.

The market isn’t expected to vaporize anytime soon. Bloomberg estimates e-cig sales will top $1 billion this year and surpass cigarette sales in the next couple of decades. Continue reading →

Posted in Coon Rapids, Forest Lake, Minneapolis

Cottage Grove Yo-Joe’s to close at end of December

Posted on December 4, 2013 by

South Washington County Bulletin reports that the fro-yo craze that heated up Cottage Grove last year might be losing its cool.

Yo-Joe’s Frozen Yogurt and Coffee Shoppe owner and co-founder Laurie Levine announced Monday the closing of both the Cottage Grove and River Falls locations, citing the inability to financially break even.

“We just aren’t making it,” Levine said in an interview. “We just aren’t getting the customers in the door. The ones we do have are amazing but it just isn’t enough.”

The Cottage Grove location, 8711 East Point Douglas Road, opened in April 2012 followed by the River Falls location in August 2012. Levine said she had a passion for business and an investor that believed in her vision. And after a successful first month, Levine said she thought the stores would make it.

Posted in Cottage Grove