After 20 years in business, the Timber Lodge Steakhouse in Canal Park is calling it quits. Bruce Taher, CEO of Timber Lodge’s parent company, Taher Inc., says he regrets having to make the decision. He hoped to close the restaurant for the winter and reopen it this spring, but a number of challenges precipitated the restaurant’s demise.
Somehow, I missed this.
Professional wrestling great Nick Bockwinkel died Nov. 14 at age 80. The image above is from what was probably his last appearance in Duluth, as special referee during a World Wrestling Federation card at the Duluth Arena in 1987. (WWF is now World Wrestling Entertainment; Duluth Arena is now the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena.)
Within six months of acquiring the Jade Fountain, Bill Kalligher locked the big red doors to the iconic Chinese restaurant. He reached the decision in September, fed up with a dirty kitchen he says he’s still trying to clean, alleged poor product quality from food suppliers and a box filled with bounced checks from customers.
Longtime Denfeld High School economics teacher Dick Gastler died on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the age of 79. Among many great teachers at Denfeld, Mr. Gastler would have to be considered the most famous of his era. He was a ham. He broke into song all the time. He frequently digressed into stories about growing up in Chaska. He wore cheesy leisure suits, famously sporting the same one every day during a stretch of 1984 when he was raising money to fight hunger — a stunt that landed him on Good Morning America. The suit was burned when Mr. Gastler reached his fundraising goal. The ashes are still in a trophy case at the school.
A few notes on Superior bars:
Norm’s Beer & Brats held a “Final Bash” over the weekend. According to its Facebook page, the bar will be moving early next week. “The old building will still be open for business tomorrow for tacos (since last week got all kinds of messed up with the power outage), and all week including Friday and Saturday,” reads a post published today. “Our new home is currently known as the Cedar Lounge. Be sure to check it out!”
Update: It seems the Norm’s / Cedar Lounge deal fell through.
Photo by Paul Van Antwerp
We are crushed at Perfect Duluth Day to learn our great friend Edgewood Smith died on July 15.
Jefferson People’s House will close July 12, according to an announcement on the Facebook page of the worker-owned cafe, bookstore and social-justice community spot that specialized in coffee and toast.
It’s the fourth piece of coffee-shop related news in recent weeks. Jitter’s has changed ownership and become Lake Superior Bakehouse, Vietnamese Lotus Inn has reopened as VN Coffee House and Cookie Temptations has opened a coffee shop in the Fitger’s Brewery Complex.
Jefferson People’s House is located in a storefront just below Anytime Fitness on the corner of 15th Avenue East and Jefferson Street in Duluth’s Endion neighborhood.
Below is the Facebook message to customers:
Dear Cherished Community,
June 1st, 2014, we started a venture that has involved love, affection, fierce dedication, and cooperative exuberance. Jefferson People’s House has seen a year of delicious toasts and community growth. We rode this train until the tracks ran out. Our team has simultaneously discovered new opportunities and have decided as a collective to dissolve Jefferson People’s House to put our energies into new, exciting projects. We have loved our time together, and it is bittersweet that we leave this adventure. Our official closing date is July 12. In the meantime, we will be open regular hours (barring July 3-5.) Keep an eye out for our closing weekend events, July 10th and 11th. Our Flowers and Coffee CSA will continue as planned through October.
Much love and solidarity, Jefferson People’s House
Jitters Lake Superior Coffee & Tea House is no more. New sister-brother owners Katina and Pauly Petsoulis took over in February and launched a name change last weekend. The new Lake Superior Bakehouse at 102 W. Superior St. promises “small-batch baked goods all from scratch and small-batch house-roasted coffees.”
Although the look of the space is changing and the variety of baked goods and other foods expanding, Katina notes one thing will stay the same.
“A lot of Jitters regulars were loyal to the coffee,” she said. “We have the same roaster, Jesse Bamford.”
As previously reported on PDD, Walker Display has moved its operations out of West Duluth, and its former location on Grand Avenue is being demolished to make way for a Kwik Trip convenience store. The demolition process has revealed the former exterior of the building’s west side — a reminder that it once served as a warehouse for Klearflax Linen Rugs Co.
Nature photographer Travis Melin died on Wednesday, May 6, after failing to recover from an April 21 heart attack. He was a 1991 graduate of Hermantown High School, a former resident of Washington Studios Artist Cooperative and lived his final years in Ely. The documentary above was produced by Mike Jandl in 2013.
A tremendous spirit and body of work lives on …
Don’t worry, the Duluth News Tribune is still a thriving enterprise and the sign on the back of the building is holding strong. The visibility of the sign, however, is slowing diminishing as the future Maurices headquarters climbs skyward.
The Tower Avenue bar known for karaoke and bloody Mary’s is winding down operations. Owner Frank Rozowski Jr. is retiring and selling the building.
Oh Snap. Uncle Harvey’s Mausoleum (a.k.a “The Cribs” a.k.a “Duluth Ice House”) seems to be melting away this winter. First the column went missing a few weeks ago and now the whole house seems to be doomed. Let’s hope Lake Superior Aquaman can fix this?
