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.