Mark Nicklawske Posts

Duluth sees its first ‘virtual restaurant’ with Bowls to Go

Restaurant developer Rick Lampton shows off the 310 Pub kitchen in Duluth where Bowls to Go menu items are prepared. Lampton and his partners own the 310 Pub, 7 West Taphouse and Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill.

A new Duluth restaurant is going without wait staff, tables, even walls because its fresh, hot food is delivered wherever hungry customers want to eat.

West Duluth bar scene adding Boreal House

Katie Fast, left, and Julie LaTourelle stand outside 330 N. 57th Ave. W. The two women purchased the former home of RJ’s Coffee Den and plan to open a new bar in West Duluth. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

Two women plan to open a new bar later this fall in a West Duluth neighborhood that boasts some of the oldest drinking establishments in the city.

Katie Fast and Julie LaTourelle, operating as K & J Industries LLC, recently purchased the former RJ’s Coffee Den at 330 N. 57th Ave. W. The century-old building is being remodeled and is expected to reopen as the Boreal House in late November.

Lakeside donut shop plan hits snag

A Dozen Excuses owner Melissa Kingren serves up fresh sweet rolls at her Tower Avenue bakery in Superior.

A Superior bakery saw its plans to open a satellite shop in Duluth derail last month but owners are still looking for a place to bring donuts back to Lakeside.

At Sara’s Table expands kitchen, adds second floor

At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Cafe is expanding its kitchen and adding a second story to its building at 1902 E. Eighth St.

Brunch has become so big at a Duluth farm-to-table restaurant that owners are building an addition to help cooks keep up with the French toast and omelette orders.

At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Cafe owner Carla Blumberg said a construction project started this spring will expand the kitchen, add new bathrooms and offer a newly created second floor space with dramatic Lake Superior views. The restaurant was established in 2002 at the corner of Eighth Street and 19th Avenue East on the former Taran’s Food Market site.

West Theater struggles through restoration, opens June 21

Work on the West Theater marquee continued on June 19, two days ahead of a grand opening event.

The West Theater looked nothing like its movie palace glory days when Duluth Reader publisher Bob Boone bought the building in 2016.

Earth Rider expansion will nearly double brewing capacity

Earth Rider Brewery is located at 1617 N. Third St. in the working waterfront of Superior, Wis.

A Superior brewery will dramatically increase beer production and expand its public event facilities amidst the city’s working waterfront.

Earth Rider Brewery founder Tim Nelson said last week the business will almost double brewing capacity with the installation of new cellaring tanks in July. The company also plans a Cedar Lounge tap room addition and a bigger outdoor entertainment area uniting its campus across a vacated street.

Grandma’s restaurant owner buys building in Lincoln Park

The owner of a well-known Duluth restaurant and several other Canal Park properties has purchased a historic building in a Lincoln Park neighborhood booming with new breweries, eateries and art galleries.

Superior bakery brings donuts back to Duluth’s Lakeside

A Dozen Excuses owner Melissa Kingren serves up fresh sweet rolls at her Tower Avenue bakery in Superior.

Donuts are coming back to Lakeside. A Dozen Excuses bakery in Superior has leased space to open a satellite location at 4328 E. Superior St. in Duluth. Johnson’s Bakery closed its Lakeside outlet in March 2018 leaving the neighborhood without an independent donut shop for the first time since 1955.

Joan Osborne to perform Dylan tribute in his native Duluth

Grammy-nominated singer Joan Osborne will perform a special Bob Dylan tribute concert on the eve of his 78th birthday at Sacred Heart Music Center, just blocks from where the legendary songwriter was born in Duluth.

Duluth Children’s Museum latest to buy into Lincoln Park

The Lincoln Park Cafe building, former home to Randy’s Cafe, was recently sold to the Duluth Children’s Museum. Long range plans call for the museum to relocate into the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Add a museum to the list of new attractions and amenities planned for Duluth’s booming Lincoln Park neighborhood. Duluth Children’s Museum purchased the former Randy’s Café building at 2125 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park March 18. Minnesota Department of Revenue records show longtime building owners Michael and Rochelle Delich of Superior sold the property for $345,000.

Renovation of former Carlson Book building nearly complete

The Lange Motors building at 206 E. Superior St. was constructed in 1915 and served as an automobile showroom and service center for four decades. A complete building rehabilitation is nearing completion.

Major restoration work on a historic auto dealership now located in a Downtown Duluth entertainment district appears close to completion and owners say they will begin marketing the space this spring.

Mystery Photos #85-87: Probably Skyline Parkway in the 1920s

An early 20th Century family photo album was recently unearthed in the Nicklawske archive room and I discovered some old Duluth photographs. I pulled three pictures from the book that included images of an automobile trip my grandfather and his sister made to Duluth in the 1920s. My grandfather, Jim Nicklawske, lived in St. Paul at the time and his sister Mae was visiting from her home in Great Falls, Mont. It appears they traveled to Duluth with a third, unidentified person who made pictures of the event.

Kmart gone, Spirit Valley hopes to rebound like Lincoln Park

The Spirit Valley business district sits just east of I-35 and includes a variety of businesses along Grand and Central avenues including the Super One grocery store in the foreground. (Photo by Cory Fechner, Liftoff Aerials)

The Spirit Valley business district in West Duluth took a serious hit in 2018 when Kmart closed but business leaders and city officials believe the area is ripe for a makeover that could match successful redevelopment work in Lincoln Park.

Lincoln Park craft district booms; West End furniture row dies

    Robert’s Home Furnishings owner Bob Rothenberger and longtime associate Rick Lowney stand at the counter inside the Lincoln Park store. Rothenberger has worked in the neighborhood for almost 50 years and recently retired, closing the store.

Before Lincoln Park became a craft district lined with trendy breweries, colorful boutiques and new restaurants it was called the West End — where furniture was king and Duluthians shopped for sofas, beds and dining room tables. Those days are pretty much over.

Historic Duluth hotel reborn for modern downtown living

Zenith City Revival LLC owner Mitchell Holmes, left, and designer Kori Kneeland stand in the kitchen of a condominium model at Building No. 12 in downtown Duluth. Zenith City Revival LLC spent more than two years renovating the historic hotel property and is now marketing space inside the building.

Developers have completed major renovation work on a 19th Century Duluth hotel and will market the condominium space to buyers interested in modern downtown living.

Zenith City Revival LLC announced last week a model condominium and more than two floors of unfinished residential space is now open for showing in the rechristened Building No. 12. The historic four-story property at 12 N. Lake Ave. was constructed in 1890 and most recently known as the Gardner Hotel.