Neighborhood Notes
Just SOME of What’s (Hip and) Happening in Seward
by Bruce Johansen <bruce.johansen [@] gmail.com>
A New Moon. Laura and Jay Fritzke became 2nd Moon Coffee Café’s new owners on May 1. The coffee-loving couple has never owned a coffee shop, but bring tremendous energy and extensive restaurant experience with them. Changes will be rolled out gradually after a general cleanup. Lots of ideas are swirling around about how to make the venerable business a more inviting, attractive, and environmentally friendly place, but they promise a “slow transition.” From day one the couple has been seeking input from their “amazing staff,” patrons, and the wider community about what works and what could be improved. “The welcome from the neighborhood has been unbelievable,” says Laura, “We really appreciate this community.” One thing the two won’t be messing with: the baked goods from A Baker’s Wife! 2nd Moon is located at 2225 E. Franklin Ave.
“Best hipster neighborhood”? That’s the designation City Pages recently bestowed upon Seward. According to CP’s “Best of” issue, we’ve got the “lumberjack look” down, the “bike obsession” big time, the co-op thing going on, plus a hipper than hip music and theatre scene. A sample of their tongue-in-cheek assessment: “The Seward Co-Op is always a hotbed for dudes in flannel shopping for pomegranate seeds and hummus. And how do they get there? This is the Seward, not the Wedge, so they come by bike, not by gas-guzzling SUV.”
Seward’s Zach Combs chronicles Twin Cities hip-hop scene. New MC, aka Big Zach of Kanser and More than Lights fame, recently published Headspin, Headshots & History: Growing up in Twin Cities Hip Hop. It’s Combs’ firsthand account of the local music scene and of growing up in South Minneapolis. The book is available at Electric Fetus, just off of Franklin Ave. at 2000 4th Ave S., and online.
Neighborhood history book team grows. In March, after receiving a grant from the Minnesota Legacy Fund, SNG’s history committee put out a call for additional contributors to a Seward history book. After reviewing resumes and writing samples, several talented residents were welcomed aboard. They are Trevor Born, Maddy Edwards, Elina Kolstad, Will Mathews, Ryan McLaughlin, and Michael Pursell. All bring new skills, background, ideas, and enthusiasm to the project.
Fancy Ray does Filmzilla. In case you’ve missed it, Filmzilla, the store formerly known as Nicollet Village Video—long known as the Twin Cities’ finest—has produced its very first television commercial. It features Fancy Ray (“the Best Lookin’ Man in Comedy”) McCloney spoofing Prince. Since first airing in the fall, the ad has become a hit around the globe, shared on YouTube and other sites, as far away as India and China. Filmzilla is located at 2701 E. Franklin.
Filmzilla inspires book. Filmpocalypse, the first chapbook published by Cloud City Press, is very loosely based on Filmzilla (surely, only the more flattering aspects of the fictional Minneapolis-based video store.) Cloud City is a Macalester College project that will publish works of creative writing students monthly. Filmpocalypse author Luke Marcott, one of those writing students, is a Cloud City Press co-founder.
New brewing company launched by Seward resident. Seward resident Jon Messier, along with head brewer Eric Biermann and a small crew, have turned a home brewing hobby into a profession. Lucid Brewing opened in Minnetonka last November, and currently produces three beers: Air, Cammo, and Dyno. It’s the first brewery in the state to complete a successful Kickstarter fund drive, raising nearly $11,000 that way.
Donut Cooperative has expanded hours. Speaking of major Kickstarter successes, the Donut Cooperative (located at 2929 E. 25th Street) is now open Tuesday through Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Now you can enjoy their homemade donuts and other fine treats right up ‘til dinner time.
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