TWO MINNEAPOLIS BREWERIES ARE BECOMING NORTH LOOP ROOMIES

Local breweries Fulton and Finnegan’s have partnered to launch a “craft brew residency” in Minneapolis’s North Loop, the Star Tribune reports. What this means, effectively, is that Finnegan’s is closing its Fifth Avenue taproom and moving its beer production to Fulton’s. Finnegan’s will eventually start serving beer on tap there, as well as selling crowlers and merch, though the brewery will remain independently owned and operated. The duo plans to collaborate on events, like Finnegan’s annual St. Patrick’s Day party.

Finnegan’s founder Jacquie Berglund says that the move is an adaptation to the the local market, which has changed since the onset of the pandemic. Berglund cites reduced foot traffic downtown as a challenge for the brewery. “When I reached out to Fulton I said, ‘We’re the urban breweries. Maybe this is a chance that 1+1=3,’” Berglund told the Strib.

A popular rooftop bar reopens in the North Loop

About a year since closing for renovations, NOLO’s Rooftop Bar will officially reopen on Friday, July 26, according to a press release. The space is popular with the North Loop’s younger crowd — updates include a redesigned bar, rooftop restrooms, new furniture, and five shaded lounging areas.

Kim’s will cut Bronto Bar and lunch service

Chef Ann Kim’s Uptown Minneapolis restaurant, Kim’s, plans to end both its weekend lunch service and service at its downstairs bar, Bronto Bar, on Thursday, August 1, Bring Me the News reports. A representative for Vestalia Hospitality, Kim’s restaurant group, told BTMN the change is due a “decline in business.” (A rep for Vestalia did not respond to Eater’s request for comment.) Workers at Kim’s successfully voted to unionize with Unite Here Local 17 in late June. In a statement to Eater, Unite Here said workers were disappointed in the restaurant’s “unilateral decision” to cut service and demanded that the company bargain with them. Local Instagram blogger Joe Rosenthal (who, in other news, is locked in a photo rights dispute with the Star Tribune over his posts about the Kim’s union) was first to post about the reduction in service.

A kitchen incubator puts down roots in North Minneapolis

Local nonprofit Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON), which plans to build a commercial kitchen incubator on Broadway Avenue, cleared a big hurdle when the city’s Planning Commission green-lit its land use plan last week, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reports. After a big fundraising push last summer, the organization is eyeing an opening sometime in 2025. In addition to a dedicated commercial kitchen space for local food entrepreneurs, the 25,000-square-foot incubator will feature a classroom, a food photography studio, space for farmers markets, and more, based on its current design plans.

2024-07-25T16:12:35Z dg43tfdfdgfd