Medcalf: Why Houston White is closing his popular Get Down coffee shop in Minneapolis

A Saturday morning at the Get Down coffee shop demands a little patience as numerous patrons vie for some of the best lattes and mochas in town.

But that’s a good thing for the Black-owned venture in north Minneapolis, created by entrepreneur Houston White.

“We had lines around the corner when we opened for two days straight,” he said about the shop’s launch in 2021. “And some people would be like, ‘There is no way a coffee shop selling $7 lattes will work.’ All right, fast forward and we’ve created 30 jobs. It has gone well.”

Yet, the success of the Get Down Coffee Co. hasn’t been sufficient for White, who is always thinking about his next move.

That’s why the coffeeshop will close Oct. 1 as White prepares to open the Blue in Green bistro, an upscale joint that will debut next spring and feature to-go options, a coffee bar, an appetizing menu and a more open layout for customers.

To those who’ve asked White why he would change something that had seemed to work so well, he’s quick to respond that change is positive.

“The reality is that I’m a creative, I’m an entrepreneur,” he said. “I’m always trying to think, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ ”

But it’s not easy to run a restaurant, especially a highly successful one. Plus, only 16% of America’s restaurant owners are Black, according to the National Restaurant Association.

That might compel someone in White’s position to play it safe. But his vision for Blue in Green — named after the classic track on jazz great Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” album — has satisfied his commitment to growth, both professionally and personally.

“It was undeniable that this was really special and we needed to have more depth to the menu,” he said. “We needed to have more time for more people. But the way the cafe was designed, it was designed the way coffee shops needed to be in 2020, when everybody was hanging out because of the pandemic.”

White and I share an affinity for early 1990s rap music.

He compares his journey evolving the Get Down to the run by A Tribe Called Quest, a hip hop crew that had a critically acclaimed run with the release of its first three major albums: People’s Instinctive Travels (1990), the Low End Theory (1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993).

“‘People’s Instinctive Travels’ is an undeniable classic, but you could see in [A Tribe Called Quest’s] attire, they were searching for themselves. But then ‘Low End Theory,’ it was like, ‘Look, we are who we are.’ And then they released a bona fide, undeniable, mature classic,” he continued. “And so for me, the Get Down is ‘People’s Instinctive Travels,” which was a classic, amazing. But I was finding my way in hospitality in 2020 and then the food business. This next iteration for me is ‘Low End Theory.’ I’m certain of where I’m going.”

The Get Down stood strong after the pandemic and offered a safe space at a turbulent time. Its greatest feat was attracting a diverse pool of folks who enjoyed a brown sugar banana cream latte or a bounce to the ounce mocha.

White said his brand of coffee will still be available through the Get Down’s website and various merchants, including Target. And he believes the new bistro will attract a similarly loyal clientele. He said his strongest customer base for the Get Down has been suburban white women, ages 18 to 50. He said that’s a testament to the commitment from his patrons, a commitment he believes will continue as he steps into a new venture and a new vision.