Massive Construction Means Uptown Businesses Need Visitors

Photo by Terry Brennan

Driving or riding around town, you can’t miss it. Road construction has really impacted a number of our restaurant and retail neighborhoods. Linden Hills is torn up (Tilia and Picnic would love to see you), Hennepin Avenue into the Surdyk’s neighborhood (Sidecar, All Saints, Silver Fern, StepCHLD, all would love to see you), but my heart is with Uptown right now.

Uptown Minneapolis was in flux before the pandemic and the riots, but no neighborhood has felt the pain of the last couple years like the one centered at Hennepin and Lake in Minneapolis. I have a theory that our population can only support two major 612 nodes and right now those nodes are North Loop and 50th & France, and yet there’s such a population base by Uptown and still tons of reasons to go support the businesses there, even during intense construction.

I’ll be honest: Hennepin & Lagoon and Lake Street are a mess. You may have to park and walk a couple of blocks. I know this is a lot to ask for some people, but the rewards are there if you make the effort. On X this week I started making a thread of great spots in the broader Uptown area.

Ann Kim’s terrific Uptown spot Kim’s started taking reservations this week to help people feel confident that they’d have a table if they made the effort. There’s still plenty of walk-in seating, but we may not quite be ready to be as spontaneous as Ann (and I) were hoping. “ Are we ready to be a restaurant town again,” I asked six months ago. Apparently not quite.

So I’m making a conscious effort to support restaurants in construction zones. I just went to Abi’s for pupusas (stellar) and Baba’s Hummus House (close to Uptown).

Here are Jason’s picks for supporting the Uptown area businesses:

In the Uptown core: Black Walnut Bakery, Lake and Irving, Kim’s, Tasting Room (wine bar), Red Cow, Nico’s Tacos, Brim, Penzey’s Spices, Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Perennial Cycle

Lyn/Lake: Abi’s Salvadoran Restaurant, Bryant Lake Bowl, Wrecktangle Pizza, Union Hmong Kitchen, Moto-I, Icanos Gastro Cantina, Up/Down

West Lake: Rustica, Chilango, Punch, the new restaurant in the Waterbury Apartments

Lowry Hill: LITT Pinball Bar, Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream

What are your favorites? And are you going to make a point to get check it out in the next week?!!? Hope to see you there.

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