Uptown Minneapolis once played host to a Starbucks, but the chain has pulled out of the neighborhood, leaving an opportunity. Greg Hoyt, owner of St. Louis Park-based Bull Run Roasting Co. (www.bullrun roasting.com), is grabbing it.
The company, which operates the popular coffee operation inside Rustica (3220 W. Lake St., Mpls., www.rusticabakery.com), is opening its first stand-alone Bull Run Coffee Bar in Calhoun Square.
"We have not made the official announcement yet," said Hoyt. "Although it's probably incumbent upon us to put a sign in the window because of all that foot traffic going in and out of the new Apple store across the street."
No kidding. The new location, adjacent to the relocated Kitchen Window (3001 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., www.kitchenwindow.com), just happens to be the space "where there was once a Starbucks, and that's a quote I hope you'll hear me saying a lot more," Hoyt said with a laugh.
Not a lot of details yet, although it will feature the same hyper-focused brewed-to-order format as the current Rustica shop, as well as Rustica-made baked goods. An autumn opening is planned.
Goodbye Linden Hills, hello EdinaAfter seven years at 43rd and Upton, tiny Rice Paper has closed and is in the process of moving 18 blocks southwest to a new home at 50th and France (3948 W. 50th St., Edina), just behind that neighborhood's branch of D'Amico & Sons.
"We're hoping for mid-July; it depends upon the inspections," said owner An Nguyen.
The new space will be slightly larger than its predecessor, more so after including a new patio. Nguyen is expanding her first-rate Vietnamese-Thai lunch and dinner menus and adding Sunday dinner, but what she's most excited about is a new afternoon tea, which she's planning to serve from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
