R.I.P. Gannucci’s Italian Market
The Duluth News Tribune reports Gannucci’s Italian Market in West Duluth is closed and a liquidation auction will be held Aug. 25.
The Duluth News Tribune reports Gannucci’s Italian Market in West Duluth is closed and a liquidation auction will be held Aug. 25.
The U.S. food truck industry is now a $1.2 billion market. Duluth-area food truck options have grown steadily since the city’s first mobile restaurants hit the streets in 2012. That summer there were four mobile eateries. Now there are at least 15.
A sweet and savory waffle bar opens in Superior next week. Superior Waffles, located in the New York Building at 1412 Tower Ave., is holding a soft opening on Sunday and a grand opening on Tuesday.
The Superior Telegram reports a new pizzeria has opened in Superior. Terry and Dawn Johnson are the proprietors of Ride or Die Pizzeria at 1623 Broadway St., the former home of Thirsty Pagan Brewing, which moved to new location a block away in 2019.
The Johnsons also own Lee’s Pizza in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District.
Shorty’s Pizza shortly after it opened in 2013. (Photo by Cindy Vu)
Shorty’s Pizza & Smoked Meats in Superior announced today via Facebook it has ceased operations due to a labor shortage in the hospitality industry.
Connor Riley – Photo by Lissa Maki
Amazing Grace Bakery and Cafe, a Canal Park mainstay over the past 25 years, is branching out into the grocery business in 2021. Owner Connor Riley said sit-down dining and music will eventually return to Amazing Grace, but for now he’s focused on the new boutique grocery store aspect of the business, which opened in January.
It’s been five years since Perfect Duluth Day published its first gallery of Duluth-area matchbooks. Since then, the collection has grown significantly. This new post features only matchbooks from bars and restaurants in Duluth. Some of them have been pulled out of the original post and placed in this new post; others are appearing for the first time.
Enjoy the nostalgia and, whatever you do, for the love of humanity, please close cover before striking.
Kai Soderberg stands outside the Jade Fountain in March, prior to remodeling the former Chinese restaurant and opening it as a tiki bar in August. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A surprising number of intrepid entrepreneurs opened new restaurants and bars in the Duluth area in 2020, despite the global pandemic. One notable trend is the number of new Black-owned businesses.
Left: Maggie’s restaurant in Bayfield marked 40 years in business in August and announced its closure in October. Right: The Crooked Spoon Cafe in Grand Marais was destroyed by fire in April. (Photos via Facebook)
The scourge of COVID-19 has challenged restaurant and bar owners at every level. The temporary closures during the pandemic are too long to list, and the industry outlook for 2021 is filled with uncertainty, but surprisingly few businesses announced they were calling it quits in 2020.
Two of the region’s most notable restaurant losses occurred in small towns away from Duluth, and COVID-19 was perhaps only loosely to blame.
OMC Smokehouse turkey – Photo by Rolf Hagberg
The pandemic will quash many extended family and group gatherings this Thanksgiving. Opting out of cooking entirely and ordering takeout is a totally reasonable option for the smoldering dumpster fire that’s left of 2020.
A bevy of Twin Ports restaurants are offering Thanksgiving meals to go, so no one has to miss out on a full turkey dinner with all the traditional trimmings. Below is Perfect Duluth Day’s list of options to soothe the cumulative stress induced by the past nine months with some savory comfort food.
Try to muster up some gratitude. Whatever you do, leave room for pie.
In an Oct. 7 Facebook post, Mike and Deb Pracher announced the closing of their family restaurant at 2803 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District.
“With heavy hearts, we will be closing the doors of Mike’s Western Cafe after 38 years of business,” they wrote. “Thank you so much for your support over the years. We have met so many people, made lots of great friendships and made MANY lasting memories. We appreciate all of you more than you know. Thank you for everything.”
Mike Pracher told Fox-21 he was 23 years old when he bought the restaurant. He said the COVID-19 pandemic led to its demise. “I thought it was going to be a week, two, or three,” Pracher said. “It’s already been six months and I just can’t wait it out.”
Pracher also told Fox 21 he might someday open a restaurant in Carlton County.
Solomon, left, and Stephan Witherspoon plan to open a new soul food restaurant in Duluth next year. The brothers will use their father’s time-tested recipes. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
Inspired by their father’s long-gone West Duluth restaurant, two brothers have announced plans to open a new eatery that will feature time-tested fried chicken recipes taken directly from the family cookbook.
Stephan and Solomon Witherspoon said last week they are actively searching for a location to house a new restaurant to be named Doc Witherspoon’s Soul Food Kitchen. The Witherspoons will launch a series of fundraisers this week and plan to open their new establishment and catering business in 2021.
I stopped by Blue Rock Coffee & Wine, kind of. It recently opened by the Miller Hill Mall, and I am enchanted by the idea of a wine bar. We haven’t had one in Duluth since the Minnesota Wine Exchange closed, unless I suppose you count the Spirit Room over in Superior. A wine bar feels like a place to taste, not to drink, if that distinction makes sense, and I’d love to have one in Duluth.
So I cruised through the drive through, having salivated over the menu, but being full from a full lunch. I ordered a peach iced tea, which tasted like actual tea, instead of a tea mix. That bodes well, as do the photos of the food.
Am I forgetting other places built for tasting wine, instead of drinking? Vikre is built for tasting gin, not for drinking it, if that helps.
Many restaurants are struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic since dining in has been prohibited. In this time of uncertainty, two bold young women are prepping to launch a vegan food truck the likes of which the Twin Ports has never seen.
If all goes as planned, Mama Roots will start popping up in parking lots with its big blue school bus in late June. The mobile restaurant will serve up plant-based, globally inspired cuisine.
