Mark Nicklawske
New Hong Kong-style cafe coming to Lakeside
Chef Antony Gor is opening a new Hong Kong-style cafe in Lakeside. The restaurant will take over the former longtime home of the New London Cafe. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A new Hong Kong-style cafe will take over a longtime restaurant space in Lakeside as its chef-owner moves from hosting special pop-up dining events to a permanent brick-and-mortar location.
Chef Antony Gor has launched plans to open Sōl Cafe at 4721 E. Superior St., the former home of New London Cafe and, most recently, Falastin Palestinian Food. The new fast-casual, breakfast-and-lunch place is expected to open later this year. (more…)
Historic property tour showcases Duluth’s west side
The Duluth Preservation Alliance will feature the west side of the city during its annual Historic Properties Tour on Sunday, Sept. 21.
An annual historic home tour that typically showcases turn-of-the-century mansions anchored in Duluth’s eastern hillside will instead feature small-scale, hidden gems lovingly restored on the west side of town.
The 2025 Duluth Preservation Alliance Historic Properties Tour highlights four private homes and two public buildings during its Sunday, Sept. 21 event called “West Side Story.” Ticket holders will be able to roam each property and take in its history, architecture and restoration work from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (more…)
Historic Duluth Woman’s Club building will become B&B
The Duluth Woman’s Club, 2400 E. Superior St., was constructed in 1910 by Duluth Edison Power company founder Alexander W. Hartman. It had been owned and maintained by the Duluth Woman’s Club since 1936. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A Superior Street mansion that long served as a meeting place for the Duluth Woman’s Club has been sold to a Washington couple with plans to establish a bed and breakfast in the Turn-of-the-Century property. (more…)
Lincoln Park salad shop moves to Lakeside; adds dining room
Ritual Salad owner Cori Zastera poses in the doorway of her new restaurant location in Lakeside. Zastera and friend Jenna Wersal, left, were prepping the building for paint June 11. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A year after opening in Lincoln Park, a popular grab-and-go lunch counter and mystic shop is moving to a bigger building in Lakeside.
Ritual Salad & Apothecary plans to open a new restaurant in a former driving school at 4501 E. Superior St. this month. The business debuted last spring in a tiny, renovated building on the corner of Superior Street and 18th Avenue West. The move will increase indoor seating capacity from five to 25. (more…)
New loan program designed to save historic Duluth buildings
Demolition of the former Pastoret Terrace on First Street and Second Avenue East has led to a new city fund supporting historic downtown Duluth building preservation.
Historic downtown Duluth buildings are now eligible for city-funded improvement loans after a legal battle over a fire-damaged-but-treasured 19th century townhouse demolition established the assistance program.
The city of Duluth recently added a $1.4 million Historic Fund to its long-running economic development initiative known as the 1200 Fund. To launch the new project, the city plans to make $400,000 in low-interest, partially forgivable loans to historic building owners for property work in 2025. The application process opened May 5. (more…)
Sunshine Cafe gets new life as training space for entrepreneurs
Family Rise Together Executive Director ChaQuana McEntyre stands outside the Sunshine Cafe, 5719 Grand Ave. The social service organization purchased the diner and will remodel it to serve as a food-service industry small-business incubator. (Photo by Lissa Maki)
A shuttered building that once housed a landmark West Duluth cafe won’t reopen with breakfast specials and counter seating but new owners will use the space for a program to train ambitious food entrepreneurs and deliver meals.
St. Louis County records show the former Sunshine Cafe, 5719 Grand Ave., was purchased in December by the Duluth social service organization Family Rise Together for $230,000. The nonprofit started renovations on the historic building this winter and has launched a fundraising campaign to install a state-of-the-art, commercial-grade kitchen inside the space. (more…)
Oliver Inn adds lounge and four new guest rooms
The Snively Lounge and four new guest rooms are being added to the 13-room Oliver Inn in Downtown Duluth. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)
A new lounge featuring antique chandeliers, a forest of ferns and a make-your-own-music stage is part of a hotel expansion project inside a history-filled Downtown Duluth landmark.
The Snively Lounge is expected to open along with four new ground-floor guest rooms at the Oliver Inn, 132 E. Superior St., later this spring. The remodeling project replaces space formerly occupied by Wasabi Duluth, a Japanese restaurant that closed Dec. 31 and consolidated operations in Superior. (more…)
Beloved Lakeside book store may be lost to building demolition
St. Michael’s Catholic Church plans to close and demolish its Lakeside Professional Building this summer. Gabriel’s Used Bookstore, located in the building’s basement, will close this spring if it cannot find a new location. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
Plans to demolish a business center housed in a historic Lakeside school building will displace several organizations, including a beloved bargain book store, this spring.
St. Michael’s Catholic Church announced in December the Lakeside Professional Building, 4915 E. Superior St., has been deemed structurally deficient and will be demolished later this year. The project means the church will close its volunteer-run Gabriel’s Used Bookstore, which has been located in the building basement since 1994. (more…)
Zenith Basecamp set to open ‘indoor glamping’ travel hub
Zenith Basecamp, at 27th Avenue West and Superior Street, features a hostel, retail store and cocktail bar. Free Air Life Co opens its outdoor store Saturday, Jan. 25. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).
The adventure begins this week as a new travel center featuring an adventure hostel, outdoor clothing retailer and cocktail bar opens in a historic Lincoln Park office building.
Zenith Basecamp, 2631 W. Superior St., will see Free Air Life Co. welcome customers to its ground floor retail shop Saturday, making it the first business to open inside the renovated property. The second floor hostel started taking reservations last week and will greet its first guests in March. Meanwhile, workers are completing construction on a new interior space that will house Altitude Cocktails and Wine Bar. (more…)