St. Paul Real Estate

Touristing

by G. Sax

I like to get my "out" on, but Mondays aren't the typical draw. Nevertheless, the wife and I did some bar hopping, taking in small drinky and eaty treats along the way. The Happy Gnome was our final stop, and the middle child was The Bulldog in Lowertown. But the reason I'm writing this week is the first stop of our trio, the Barrio in Lowertown, right next door to The Bulldog.

We sat by the window, looking south across Mears Park. We've dined upon Mears before from LoTo on the ground floor of Galtier Plaza, but that was an inferior eastward view—at least in terms of the current hipness barometer. LoTo is certainly a clean and modern (and delicious) eat-a-drinkery, but it lacks that Minneapolisness that is raving through downtown St. Paul these days.

My pass through Barrio got me to thinking that living and touristing in cities are entirely different beasts, Chicago's Navy Pier, New York's Times Square, San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, Los Angeles's Hollywood and Highland. These are national points of interest. But for the locals, not so much.

I think it's okay to go where you're supposed to go. Cities spend millions to get tourists to spend billions on their most obvious charms.

In Minneapolis, Block E was designed to be the epicenter of downtown life, and though the entertainment complex has had its troubles, it sits so squarely in the middle of downtown that it can't help but be relevant to a tourist's Minneapolis experience. Hooters and Hard Rock are where they are for a reason.

What does St. Paul have? The Capitol building? What's good eats near there? White Castle, McDonald's, the Sweetwater Bar and Grill inside the Kelly Inn? St. Paul is capable of exciting, urban gastro flair on Grand Avenue, but Grand lacks a first-tier obviousness that a city should have. West 7th, especially near the Xcel Energy Center, is arguably the center of downtown nightlife, but what happens when hockey season's over? We could use another obvious core for the casual traveler and someplace to park the car once for the casual Minneapolis resident.

While at Barrio, we read recent reviews of the place on Yelp:

"Another grand opening in Saint Paul of another outpost of a Minneapolis restaurant." – Dee T., Saint Paul, MN

"This is the exact same bar as on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. It makes a nice 1–2 punch with The Bulldog next door. Finally some real life in downtown St. Paul." – Dan S., Minneapolis, MN

Barrio's food was passable if not overpriced, but the vibe was something so far from the Gopher Bar, Savoy, or Alary's that it may ruffle the standard St. Paulite. Maybe Barrio won't compete with my established saintly city favorites, but it shouldn't have to. I'm not the intended audience. And that's perfect.

Dunn Bros on West 7th

 
The Dunn Bros opened last February they took the place of the Starbucks.  I like this coffee shop because of the location. Apparently the man reading the paper likes it too and I apologize for taking his photo.  The street looks so nice this time of year with the hanging baskets and the tables and chairs out on the sidewalk that taking a picture seemed like the thing to do. . . after I bought a cup of coffee.

Around the Town

by G. Sax

I work in real estate, and I play in St. Paul. Sometimes I work in St. Paul, too. Like last Friday. I went on my final longish training run before my first ever marathon this upcoming Saturday up the way in Duluth, Minnesota (wish me luck!).

I see a lot of cool things while running around St. Paul. Cool houses. Cool coffee shops. Cool parks. Cool dogs. Cool people. And sometimes I see cool, photoworthy stuff. I'm not so cucumber cool as to carry a camera with me while I'm cruising the capital city like Ed does over in Minneapolis. Ed's done the marathon thing a few more times than I have; plus he thought of the camera thing first, and I try not to be too much of a copycat.

But after my run, I did retrace my route via car and took a couple of shots that caught my eye.

In the Northwest Como neighborhood: Quotable Cooper. I like an elementary school that draws inspiration from the shock rock lexicon.

Off of Pierce Butler Route: The final day of Minnehaha Lanes.

It was a little sad to see the teardown of the old bowling alley. My grandma bowled in leagues there. My mom bowled in leagues there. I had a red, flame-painted bike with a banana seat get stolen from there. My five-year high school reunion was held there several years ago (and I got really, really drunk there). I took my kids there a little over a year ago, and we had so much fun we bought an extra game. Even then, the employees knew the Lanes' days were numbered.

So long, old friend. Here's to hoping your land is redeveloped right. I'll think of you fondly while finishing off spares over at Midway Pro Bowl.

Mad Libs

by G. Sax

I've been doing some speaking to REALTORS® about marketing and personal brand, and I got to thinking maybe I should reiterate why I'm here. My name is Greg, I work in real estate, I'm a writer, and I live in St. Paul. Decent credentials for this blog.

Depending on who you ask (my kids, my wife, my ego), I'm also a "person of note" in St. Paul. I'm active with annual Winter Carnival activities, I'm the President-Elect of the St. Paul Bouncing Team, and I'm an avid booster of most things "St. Paul" not just in spirit but in action. I get out and live this livable city.

This week, I'm talking about four wonderful places in St. Paul to get drinks and eats. I've chosen them "Mad Libs" style in that they are all going to go "The ____________ ______________" where the first blank is a descriptor and the second is a noun. The first example that came to my mind was "The Slippery Noodle," a blues bar in Indianapolis, Indiana, but let's localize this game.

The Black Dog
This Lowertown spot is equally about coffee, organics, wine, and pizza. I like a Summit Extra Pale Ale with a cheese and sausage plate. The Dog is important to me because when I was a visitor and not a resident in 2005, it's where my wife and I went before heading back to San Francisco and she said, "I could see myself living here." | MENU

The Happy Gnome
I was a big fan of former tenant Chang O'Hara's (please, someone bring back corned beef eggrolls!), so I once held a grudge against The Gnome. But the venue is just too good, and the beer selection is better than good. Hard-to-find favorites often turn up on tap, like Moylan's Kilt Lifter Scotch Style Ale. The menu is not your typical Irish-Catholic fare either. Braised elk tartlet, anyone? | MENU

The Muddy Pig
Down the street from The Gnome is more beer menu joy. Selby and Dale used to have a naughty reputation for drugs and crimes. Now it has a naughty reputation for Belgian ales and kielbasa served with stone ground mustard. Note to management: Your Scrabble game doesn't have any Bs or Ms. | MENU

The Strip Club
No, this isn't The Lamplighter's sister establishment or The Payne Reliever under new management. It's class cuisine in the shadow of Metro State University on St. Paul's East Side. Live large with a Delerium Nocturnum and a Thousand Hills Cattle Co. New York Strip. According to the menu, "Substitutions politely declined and Vegetarians regarded with benevolent amusement." | MENU

My trip to the Strip was not so steaky, but I did approach heaven with Ledebuhr's Wild Rice Brat (apples, potatoes, onions, and Dijon; mmmm). My lunch here with Teresa last week served as the launchpad for this post.

Expertise

by Erik Hare

Saint Paul is graced with many retail corridors that have become destinations for shoppers.  Grand Avenue and Selby Avenue are quite well known, as are Ford Parkway and Cesar Chavez.  There are also West Seventh, University Avenue, and lower Payne Avenue, among a lot of others.  Each is lined with specialty shops that are run by local entrepreneurs selling things that are hard to find anywhere else.

What’s so great about these stores?  It’s true that if you know exactly what you want you might be able to find a better deal on the internet.  But that’s not often the case, especially if you like to lead a life full of many delightful surprises.  If you need a gift for a friend or would like to have a new experience of some kind, the real value of local stores isn’t just what they have on hand. 

The entrepreneurs that own them have gone into the business they run because they are excited about what they do; they’re into it.  They usually know something about what they sell that you don’t, and are happy to tell you all about it.  They also usually staff their stores themselves, rather than turn it over to kids who know nothing.

Let’s say that you want a gift for a cigar aficionado but know nothing about it yourself.  The Golden Leaf Smoke Shop at 277 West Seventh, pictured, is a place that provides a haven for cigar smokers.  It’s not just a store, it’s a wealth of information about a world that many people know nothing about.  If you’re looking for something along these lines, you can go there and chat with the customers and sales staff to educate yourself about that world.

The same is true of our antique stores, florists, craft stores, and other specialty places.  Don’t think of them as just places where you buy things, as good as that is for the economy of Saint Paul.  Think of these places as a wealth of information that help you to be a better consumer as well as a better citizen.  It’s to your benefit to get to know them in more ways than one!

As the weather becomes better suited for just hanging around outside and getting a little exercise, a stroll down any of Saint Paul’s retail streets is a good way to enjoy the weather and enjoy the city.  You never know what you might find and you never know what you might learn.  Give it a try!

Study Local

By Erik Hare

I often tell it as a joke.  People should patronize local businesses, I always say, so you can imagine someone walking in and saying, “This is a fine local business!  Yesiree!  What a nice little local business you have!”  I tell it this way so that it stays in people’s imagination in a way a whole lot of preaching can’t, but it’s not a joke at all.  Buying local is one of the most important things you can do to support your community.

There have been a lot of studies which show this, and the most significant can be found at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) webpage.  The most commonly quoted is the Andersonville Study of Retail Economics, done in 2004 by Civic Economics.  They picked local business that were restaurants, retail outlets, and service providers.  Comparable chains were found that matched each of them.  They then conducted extensive interviews with the owners and managers regarding their expenditures.  Locally owned businesses sourced a lot more of their products close at hand in the local community, rather than from a central office located far away.

The Andersonville Study showed that 68 cents out of every dollar spent at a local business stays in the community, versus 43 cents for chain stores.  That’s not a small difference.  It means that local businesses offer a community a significant advantage in income.

Because they often have less to spend on advertising it’s important to seek out these local businesses on your own.  Many chains rely on location to drive impulse buying, counting on you to buy something once you are in the store. By being very aware of your purchases, you can plan them out and take the time to seek out a locally owed store such as a grocery store or a book store.  

It’s not hard to make this work.  A study in Bellingham, Washington by Applied Research Northwest showed that 3 years into a campaign to encourage shoppers to “Think Local!” 58% of them were more deliberate about their purchases and took the small amount of effort to support their local businesses.  It doesn’t take much to make a difference.

It’s easy to make buying local seem awfully serious – because it is.  Putting more thought into how you spend money is good for the community and good for your wallet, too.  But it’s also a lot of fun and makes everyone better off.  That gives you a lot to enjoy just the way it is.

Seventh Heaven

Seventh Heaven on the corner of West 7th and Leech Street in St. Paul, MN.  I love the shop and the building. We have a few of what I call 'triangle buildings' on West 7th. This building is a favorite of mine, I like the rounded windows and doorways. It has balconies on the other side you can see them to the right in the picture.

Seventh Heaven is a coffee shop, cafe and antique shop.  The coffee is good and everything I have ever ordered there is good. Check it out sometime, even if you are just looking for a place to go to get out of the rain.

Selby and Fairview

by G. Sax

I finally got a chance to eat at the Blue Door Pub last weekend. The establishment at 1811 Selby Avenue in St. Paul has received some good press of late, especially for it's addition to the local "Juicy Lucy" catalogue of hamburgers. Or "Jucy Lucy" if you're in line with the faithful at Matt's Bar in Minneapolis.

Matt's frequently gets credit for the first Jucy Lucy, a burger with cheese melted inside of it. The superheated core makes for a remarkably delicious nosh, whether you're eating the Matt's original, the offering further down Cedar Avenue at the 5-8 Club, or the St. Paul versions at The Groveland Tap, Casper and Runyon's Nook, Shamrock's, and now the Blue Door Pub.

The Blue Door's base burger is actually the Juicy Blucy, named for a delectable bomb of bleu cheese (and garlic!) inside an Angus beef patty. So good. I landed at Blue Door because Mpls/St. Paul just put out its "Best Restaurants" issue, it jumped out at me from the "Best New" category, and I wanted to take my wife somewhere different on a Sunday night.

Although different is debatable. Not because the Blue Door is stale (far from it), but because the corner of Fairview and Selby and I go way, way back. I used to live on that corner for one memorable year. 1977.

Certain life years rise up on a person as formative, and I have a strong tendency to return to that one even though I was only 7. Memories remain vivid. The Vikings last Super Bowl appearance. The squirrel that hissed and lunged at me when I cornered it with a stick. Fleetwood Mac playing "Don't Stop" on the bus on the way home from school. The old corner store where I bought my mom a birthday card with her money. The girl of my dreams, Jessica Knapp. The last time I mentioned Jessica on a personal blog, she found it, contacted me, and we've been friends ever since. Facebook friends, too, if you want proof. So 1977 lives on.

I have to imagine 1977 sticks out because it's the year before I became who I would become. The next year I moved to the neighborhood where I would live for the next decade, where I would forge my lifelong friendships, and where I would eventually return in adulthood.

Where I live now is not so far from Fairview and Selby, and I drive by there frequently. And even though all the buildings are the same, it's different of course. Captain Ken's Beans has been replaced by a collection of antique stores. A hip, new burger joint with a splendid beer menu is just around the way. But that's not what I'm talking about. It's a head change. The world is so much bigger at 7, yet the things that happened then can shrink you down to size thirty years yonder. My daughter turns 7 this year. I hope she's able to recall this year so fondly. I hope this blog entry gives you pause to consider where you were when you were 7. You should return there if you can. It may no longer be your neighborhood, but it's still yours.

 About the photo: That's the house I lived in, and no, that's not my business in the foreground. It belongs to my uncle, Gary Sax. I do like having another G. Sax on one of my favorite corners of my favorite city.

Healthy Neighborhoods Have Healthy Businesses

It isn't  just schools and housing that make our neighborhoods strong it is businesses.  There is the old saying that no one makes any money until someone sells something.

The other day I was driving down Randolph and at the corner of Randolph and Fairview there is a sign advising people to buy local to keep Minnesota strong.  It was on the boulevard in front of Brewberry's one  of my favorite local coffee shops. I have several favorites one in just about every neighborhood because I use I like to meet clients at coffee shots.

The building in the picture is the Blair Arcade on the corner of Selby and Western, the home of Nina's, another local neighborhood coffee shop, 165 N Western Ave , St Paul, MN.  The two are a few miles apart but both are in St. Paul and they are neighborhood favorites.

It keeps St. Paul strong and our neighborhoods strong when we shop at the local businesses that are  in the neighborhood.  The people that own them and work in them tend to spend the money they make right back in the neighborhood.  St. Paul would not be as nice of a place to live if there were not so many neighborhood restaurants, bars, coffee shops and stores.

Next time you buy something please consider buying it from a neighborhood business.  Don't forget that small businesses create jobs, and right now we need them. They also give back to the community, sometimes through charitable donations and sometimes just by maintaining one of our historic buildings and putting it to use.  Some of our local businesses have gone out of business leaving vacant store fronts around town. I am seeing more of them these days and it is sad.

Supermarkets

By Erik Hare

The local grocery store is more than just a place to pick up dinner.  It’s also where you might run into neighbors and exchange gossip or news, perhaps even learning a few things that are going on.  That role as a center of the community hasn’t changed for thousands of years.  The ancient Greek “agora” was full of people buying their daily food and just chatting or, if their name was Plato or Socrates, inventing Western Civilization.  This was, however, before laws against loitering.

The modern grocery store or “supermarket” as we’ve come to know it is in some trouble.  A 2006 survey for Food Processing Magazine found that only 52% of all food sales came from traditional food retailers, and this may drop as low as 40% by 2014.  Who’s taking up the sales?  Large “supercenters” such as Target and Wal*Mart are moving into the field aggressively, knowing that while food has low margins it gets people back into the store at least once a week.  It’s the loyalty that they hope to play off of, not the community center.

Still, you can tell a lot about a neighborhood by the kind of food stores it has.  Despite everything, there are only three basic types:

Traditional “grocery”stores of less than about 40,000 sq feet or so make up the bulk of what you’ll find in the middle of neighborhoods.  Some of these are “ethnic” stores that cater to a specific cuisine or diet, some are upscale in price and quality.  A large number of these means you are looking at a stable neighborhood that values its institutions.  You can rely on places like this for news.

“Supermarket” stores are larger than Traditional markets, although the term is often used broadly to describe any self-service food store.  At one of these stores you will see a much larger selection and a parking lot big enough to accommodate an entire region’s worth of traffic.  In the Twin Cities, the most common ones are Rainbow and Cub Foods.  These are not neighborhood stores, and a neighborhood that relies on one of these will need to have another place for news and gossip.

Adventure stores are the latest trend, with Trader Joe’s being the most well known.  The idea is that they keep people away from larger “supercenters” by offering highly unique products and experiences.  These kinds of store can be neighborhood centered or not, you’ll have to visit them to see.

Saint Paul still has dozens of smaller “grocery” sized stores around built around the traditional model, but more and more ethnic varieties all the time.  These are springing up to serve new populations that have different needs than the usual larger stores can serve.  No matter what the nature of these smaller stores, each is the center of one type of community as it is known to the people who shop there.

The best way to find out about a neighborhood as a casual observer is to make a note of the kind of grocery stores and spend some time in which ever one seems the busiest.  A shopping cart is a peek inside someone’s life if you really want to be nosy about it.  I often recommend to people who are interested in a particular neighborhood that they check out the grocery stores first and pick up some of the dirt; it doesn’t matter what you hear, just so long as you hear it. 

A neighborhood where people talk is a neighborhood where you can stay connected.  That’s what really matters when looking for a place that you can stake your claim for the long haul.