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Bringing Burgers and Burritos Together
 Another development win came for the Longfellow/Lake Street
area, when experienced father-daughter restaurateur team Steve and Marie Frias opened
Peppers & Fries at 3900 E Lake Street on January 26. The Friases selected
the Longfellow Neighborhood as they were looking for a place to create an urban
burger-burrito grill in a family-friendly, neighborhood setting - something
they felt no one else was doing. Peppers
& Fries, named after a combination of Steve and Marie’s childhood nicknames,
offers over 10 made-from- scratch burger combinations. Steve, a burger aficionado, says the secret
to a good burger is to start with fresh beef patties from Husnik Meat Co. and
layer them with rich flavor sensations like peanut butter, pepper jelly, and
bacon. A variety of burritos are also
featured on the menu like the Willy’s Smothered Burrito which is filled with
stewed chipotle pork, refried beans, Spanish rice, and cheddar and then
smothered with more chipotle pork.
Peppers & Fries is proud to work with other local
businesses to provide recipe ingredients and desserts. Some of their local
vendors include Izzy’s Ice Cream, Sunny Lane Pies, PJ Murphy’s Bakery, and this summer they will
feature bratwursts from the Longfellow Market across the street.
The remodel of the blighted, vacant SuperAmerica to a burger-burrito
grill/sports bar with glass garage doors was a big undertaking. Steve said that
working with the Longfellow Business Association and Lake Street Council extremely helpful guiding them through
the development review process and helping make connections to financial
resources. The project was made possible
with loans from BankCherokee, Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers,
Neighborhood Development Center, and the City of Minneapolis. Peppers and Fries
employs 32 staff.
 The City of Minneapolis department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) welcomed Andrea Brennan as the new Director of Housing Policy and Development on Thursday, February 12. In this role, Brennan will be responsible for all housing development activities for the City. She will also manage and provide leadership to a staff of approximately 35 employees charged with implementing CPED housing policies.
Brennan brings 17 years of experience in housing policy and development to Minneapolis. Most recently, Brennan served as the Director of Community and Economic Development for Dakota County Community Development Agency. Before that, she served as the Deputy Executive Director for the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
Brennan has served as a board member/member for many organizations and nonprofits including: Minneapolis Development Finance Review Committee, Business Service Committee, Dakota-Scott Workforce Investment Board, National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, Sensible Land Use Coalition, Urban Land Institute, Minnesota Brownfields, and Economic Development Association of Minnesota.
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WorkForce Centers Reaching More
Customers
Helping people learn new work skills and find jobs is among the many
missions of the Minnesota WorkForce Centers. “The wide ranging and different
services in Minneapolis centers are planned, designed and delivered, taking
into account what services customers need and when they need them,” said
Ibrahim Noor, field operations area manager of the two Minneapolis WorkForce
Centers.
Over the past three years, the average monthly percentage of unemployed
people attending a workshop or using a resource room computer at a Minnesota
WorkForce Center has increased. This is a step in the right direction as each person
served by a WorkForce Center is another person whose economic future can be
improved.
The average monthly percent of the unemployed using WorkForce Center resources
statewide in 2013 was 12.7%. The two Minneapolis WorkForce Centers monthly
percent of unemployed using services was 20.6%, the second highest in the state.
Learn
More
 The City of Minneapolis is seeking a diverse range of public
artists to create four new projects as an important part of the redesign and
reconstruction of the city’s downtown Nicollet Mall.
The project’s goals are to develop new works of art which:
- Are stimulating and contribute to the mall’s reputation as a national
destination,
- Engage adults and children at both large scale and detailed (intimate) levels,
- Contribute to the mall’s vitality and ability to attract visitors,
- Represent the best creative ideas and the range of cultural communities in the
city,
- Are compatible with the mall design, the current art collection and the needs
of the businesses and residents, and
- Are durable and can be maintained in Minneapolis’ climate and urban
environment.
Additional information regarding this call for artists can
be found on the City’s website.
The deadline for submissions is midnight (MT) on February 27, 2015. The City
expects to select artists by mid-April and to install the new artworks as the
mall is reconstructed in 2016 and 2017.
Sam Grant Named Executive Director at Everybody In
Sam Grant is taking the lead as Executive Director of Everybody In, a regional collaboration created to eliminate racial employment disparities in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul seven-county region by 2020.
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Everybody In was developed through the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, Ramsey County Workforce Investment Board, City of Saint Paul and City of Minneapolis in response to our metropolitan area having the highest racial employment disparity in the nation.
Sam’s achievements include being a founder of the Organizing Apprenticeship Project (now Voices for Racial Justice), launching and serving as president of a community development credit union, launching and leading the development of an environmental business incubator, and designing and leading a mid-career apprenticeship program. Sam is also part of an effort to support the development of a food system for community health and wealth in North Minneapolis. He teaches at Metropolitan State University where he designed the Minor in Community Organizing and Development.
More Information
The City of Minneapolis is seeking proposals for One
Minneapolis Fund grants, which can help community organizations with leadership
development programs and community engagement activities. A total of $182,000
is available from the One Minneapolis Fund in 2015, and community organizations
may apply for up to $25,000 in funding for projects. To be eligible for funding
from the program, an organization must be a non-governmental, non-profit
organization serving residents of Minneapolis. Neighborhoods who receive
Community Participation Program funding are not eligible to apply, however,
they may partner with a community organization on a project in which the
community organization serves as the applicant to the One Minneapolis Fund.
Proposals are due by 4pm on April 6, 2015. Any questions
on the program should be submitted in writing to Howard Blin. To submit a proposal, visit the City of
Minneapolis website.
On Monday, February 9, the City of Minneapolis launched a
new financial transparency platform powered by OpenGov.com that provides
residents and city officials unprecedented access to the City’s financial information.
Minneapolis is the largest city in the Midwest to launch an OpenGov
platform. The powerful visualization
software transforms volumes of raw financial data into actionable insight and
information, enabling better analysis and understanding of the City’s budget.
The platform can be accessed through the City’s website or directly at https://minneapolismn.opengov.com/.
Minneapolis residents and staff can now explore long-term
budget trends and quickly drill down into specific financial detail in an
intuitive, user-friendly format. Residents can easily answer questions such as,
“what did the City spend on capital improvement projects?” or “how has City
spending on police changed over the past seven years?” and download or share
the data on social media.
With the launch of this financial transparency
platform and last month’s launch of the City’s open data portal more City data
is easily available to the public than ever before. Previously, if residents or
reporters wanted much of this information, they had to formally request it from
the City.
Local Entrepreneurs Highlighted in National Documentary Project
Deluxe Corp.
is highlighting restaurateur Kim Bartmann and other Twin Cities-based
entrepreneurs in a series of short films featuring small businesses. As part of
its nationwide "Small Business Revolution" project and to celebrate
its 100th anniversary, Deluxe is telling the individual stories of 100 small
businesses around the country through video and photo essays.
The photo
essays showcase St. Paul-based Laura Hlavac Design, Minneapolis-based Bogart's
Doughnut Co., St. Croix Chocolate Co. in Marine on St. Croix, and other local
small businesses.
Read
More
Recycling Superstar Businesses Named by Hennepin County
Hennepin County put out a list to name, thank and congratulate small and large companies that were part of the county's Environmental Partners program last year. The businesses committed to recycling day-to-day waste, composting food, delivering food scraps to local farmers and donating edible food to rescue agencies.
Businesses that want to start or advance recycling efforts can get Hennepin County grants up to $50,000, plus free labels and signage for storefronts and recycling containers, as well as staff assistance and advice.
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