Lake Street News Brief
www.lakestreetcouncil.org
January 27, 2010

Lake Street Council's mission is to build
a cohesive strategy to ensure the ongoing vitality
of the Lake Street Corridor business community.

The Latest on Lake:

There are several new and upcoming business openings to take note of in the Lake Street corridor. A new Subway restaurant and coffee shop called I Am Coffee are now open at 2752 Lyndale Ave. Just south of there, at 2800 Lyndale Ave., a new motorcycle dealership called Ducati Minneapolis plans to open in the spring. My Sister's Closet plans to open its second store in February at 2741 Hennepin Ave. Double Danger Comics & Collectibles plans to open at 818 W. Lake St. And the Pioneer Press reports that a new Parasole restaurant called Cafeteria will open in Calhoun Square later this year. (Thanks to Uptown's Thatcher Imboden for several of those announcements)
Three Lake Street venues came up winners in Metromix's Best of Twin Cities awards. Uptown's Chino Latino took the award for best happy hour, Lyn-Lake's Tiger Sushi got the nod for best sushi, and Longfellow newcomer Gandhi Mahal won for best Indian restaurant. Congratulations to them!
Xcel Energy now offers a program called One-Stop Efficiency Shop for small and mid-sized businesses. Qualifying businesses can get a free lighting audit with cost saving recommendations, rebate incentives up to 60% of install costs, and start-to-finish oversight of lighting upgrades. If you're interested in taking the lighting efficiency incentives, contact Xcel at 612-335-3487 or bsc@xcelenergy.com.
The City of Minneapolis is accepting proposals for Great Streets Business District Support Program. Through a competitive Request for Proposals process, this program funds activities in specific areas that support the vitality of business districts. Proposals are due on Friday, February 26, 2010 at 4:00 PM. An informational meeting will be held on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 9:00 AM at CPED, Crown Roller Mill,105 Fifth Ave South, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55401. For more information, contact Kelly Hoffman at 612-673-5079 or visit the Great Streets website.

Lake Street Calendar:

Meetings & Gatherings:

January 29th: Breakfast with Gary Schiff
7:30 - 8:45 AM, 1515 E. Lake St. (Mercado Central)
Ninth Ward Awards will be presented for Leader of the Year, Block Club of the Year, Neighborhood Project of the Year, and Youth Leader of the Year. Breakfast is $7. RSVP is encouraged to 612-673-2209.

January 29th: Early Mornings with Elizabeth Glidden
7:30 - 9:00 AM, 4762 Chicago Ave. S. (Turtle Bread)
Awards for Ward 8 Community Leader and the Stephanie Ball-Bailey Youth Leader will be presented.

January 29th, February 1st, & February 4th: Commercial Hood Cleaning Permit Program Information Sessions
Minneapolis City Hall, January 29 at 9:00 AM in Room 333, February 1 at 1:00 PM in Room 319, and February 4 at 10:00 AM in Room 333
Minneapolis's fire marshal is inviting restaurant industry representatives to attend sessions related to this new program. The sessions will give attendees an overview and give them time to ask questions.

February 1st: Community Energy Services Informational Meeting for Longfellow Residents
6:30 - 8:00 PM, 4200 W. River Pkwy. (Minnehaha Academy South Campus)
Community Energy Services, CES, is an easy, one-stop program designed to help homeowners reduce their energy use and save money in their home. Having been in Longfellow before and seen great success, the program is back to serve even more residents! The Longfellow Community Council has teamed up again with the Center for Energy and Environment, CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy to offer Longfellow homeowners this full-service residential energy program.

February 4th: Small Business Owner Tax Benefits & Incentives Information Session
1:00 - 3:00 PM, 105 5th Ave. S. (Crown Roller Mill, 2nd floor conference room #3)
Carole Smith of the Internal Revenue Service will talk about: COBRA, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Empowerment Zone Employment Tax Credit, Section 179 for depreciation, bonus depreciation (2009), energy incentives for businesses, and net operating loss changes for small businesses.

February 25th: Phillips West Neighborhood Organization's 13th Annual Winter Social
5:00 - 8:00 PM, 2400 Park Ave. (Lutheran Social Service Center)
Join your friends and neighbors for a dinner of cultural foods, door prizes, entertainment and a fun-filled evening! Neighborhood resources and networking opportunities will be available. If you have questions or need a free Shuttle ride to the event, please call the Phillips West office at 612-879-5383 to reserve.

Entertainment:

January 28th: Avoid the Grey - Annual Fashion Show, at Old Arizona
7:30 & 9:30 PM, 2821 Nicollet Ave.
"Featuring: Niki English, kjurek couture, Amanda Christine, Peloria, syd Carmichael Claith, Kathryn V, Dawson, Kelson, Ivan Idland, Jenny Carle, Tender Cuts, Red Shoe Clothing Co., Ashley Busch, Arwyn Birch, and Rachel DeLange."

Beginning January 29th: 17 Swedish Designers, at American Swedish Institute
2600 Park Ave. (6:00 PM opening reception on the 29th)
Featuring the work of seventeen of the most notable designers in Sweden today -- and they're all women. The exhibit includes more than 60 examples of design in the form of furniture, textiles, and functional and decorative works in glass, ceramics, wood, steel, and other materials.

January 29th: Twins Caravan Visit, at Midtown Global Market
12:00 - 1:00 PM, 920 E. Lake St.
Two current Minnesota Twins baseball players, as well as Twin’s mascot TC Bear, will stop and visit at Midtown Global Market as a part of the Twins Caravan tour. Immediately following the appearance, guests can register to win Twins apparel and merchandise.

January 29th: "Interfictions 2" Author Reading, at Magers & Quinn
7:30 PM, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S.
Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing is a genre-spanning collection of short stories from 21 authors from around the world. An amazing four of the authors are from Minneapolis, and they'll all be reading at Magers & Quinn. Featuring Alan DeNiro, David Schwarz, Kelly Barnhill, and William Alexander.

January 29th & 30th: Elements in Translation, at Patrick's Cabaret
8:00 PM, 3010 Minnehaha Ave.
The Elements in Translation series continues at Patrick’s Cabaret. An evening of hip-hop, breakin, waacking, house, poppin, tap, african, bellydance, spoken word, singing, and modern dance. Local urban talent with local urban style.

January 30th: Global Soup Cook-Off, at Midtown Global Market
12:00 - 2:00 PM, 920 E. Lake St.
In honor of National Soup Month, Midtown Global Market will host the third annual Global Soup Cook-Off, where over a dozen soup recipes will be available for sampling. Market visitors are invited to vote for their favorites and take the recipe home.The event is open to the public. A donation of $3 per person is suggested with proceeds benefiting Perspectives’ Kids Café.

January 30th: Benefit for Haiti, at Pangea World Theater
7:00 - 9:00 PM, 711 W. Lake St.
Performers include: Khary Jackson, Ayanna Muata, Gabrielle Civil, Ellen Marie Hinchcliffe (more will be added soon) Hosted by Juma B. Essie. Please join poets, spoke…n word artists and performers as we raise money for Haitians affected by the earthquake. Hope to see you there! Peace. All money raised will go directly to Paul Farmer’s organization Partners In Health.

Through January 30th: Party in the Rec Room, at Bryant Lake Bowl
Fridays & Saturdays at 7:00 PM (9:30 PM show added on 29th & 30th), 810 W. Lake St.
Start off the New Year with another Party In The Rec Room! Join local author and actor Lorna Landvik as she throws another comedy bash, filled with characters created on the spot. It's a new show every night - it's wild, it's fun, it's margarita-soaked! If it's 2010 - it's time to party!

February 6th: VERVE 2010: Spoken Word Showcase!, at Intermedia Arts
8:00 PM, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S.
Intermedia Arts is proud to present a showcase of some of the most dynamic spoken-word artists in the Twin Cities. All winners of Intermedia Arts' 2009 VERVE Grant for spoken-word poets, these performance poets are ready and waiting to bring their new work to the community.

February 6th & 7th: City of Lakes Loppet
The City of Lakes Loppet is an annual cross-country ski festival that takes place in Uptown every February. Professional racers from around the country come to Uptown to participate in one of the finest winter events in Minnesota. Attendees have the opportunity to watch fast paced cross-country ski races and also participate in family events including the Junior Loppet, Minne-Loppet, Luminary Loppet and more.

February 13th & 14th: Sock Puppet Serenade, at In the Heart of the Beast Theatre
7:00 PM Saturday, 4:00 & 7:00 PM Sunday, 1500 E. Lake St.
"Flowers and cards and chocolates are all lovely on Valentine's Day, but when was the last time you gave a puppet show for Valentine's Day? Kurt Hunter creates a touching, quirky, and entertaining world of marionettes in this series of shorts, including one of the sweetest love stories you'll find this weekend! Fringe Festival audiences called the show ingenious, charming, captivating, witty, warm, and poignant. Catch dinner before or after on Lake Street."

March 6th: Book Signing at Uncle Edgar's Mystery Bookstore
1:00 - 2:00 PM, 2864 Chicago Ave. S.
Jeff Siger will have a formal signing for Assassins of Athens and Murder in Mykonos (both available as hardcovers and trade paperbacks).