Category: Shopping

Hennepin Ave facing Lake St, crowded with bus and cars. Not bike friendly.

Safe Streets are Good for Business

It’s a day ending in -y, so business owners are concerned about parking again. This time we’re on Hennepin Avenue, between Douglas and Lake. Is it Uptown? Only a certain former city council member could tell you.  Business owners on Hennepin got loud enough about the prospect of less street parking in the upcoming reconstruction […]

Arbor Lakes Lifestyle

Twin Cities Lifestyle Centers Compared

This is the third article in a series on the evolution of retail and parking issues. Part One looked at issues with West End’s parking ramp as described in a Twin Cities Business magazine article. Then Part Two followed the evolution of regional retail from urban downtowns to suburban malls to suburban lifestyle centers. Now […]

Arbor Lakes Main Street

From Shopping Malls to Lifestyle Centers

On why structured parking is allegedly problematic for regional retail in general, which is causing problems at West End.  This installment will look at the overall evolution of regional retail – from downtown, to the regional malls, to lifestyle centers like West End.  Downtown 2.0: The Mall With the massive movement of people to the […]

Grandview Grill offers patrons encouraging words.

Walking: A Rare Joy of ‘Sheltering in Place’

Is it me? Or is everyone who is brave enough to go outdoors these days a little friendlier, a bit relieved to see another human being? With a record number of people unemployed, and only “essential” workers (a term that makes me feel dispensable) now allowed to report to their offices or shop floors, fewer […]

Cub Foods February 2020 Groceries

Grocery Wars 2020: Costco is a Winner Winner Five Dollar Chicken Dinner

Recently, I asked our readers to fill out a survey about grocery shopping habits, including where you shopped and what was on your most recent receipt. Thank you to the 53 readers who shared their data! I have been volunteering hard over the last half-month to bring you the most representative grocery index I could, […]

Whole Foods Produce

Help Design the Next Grocery Index

Dear streets.mn loyal readers, Last year, I worked on a grocery index that included local Minneapolis-St. Paul grocery stores and common staples. For the next index, it’s time to ask for your input on what stores and what staples you value. Since the last grocery index, I have learned that Instacart has a mark-up on […]

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Dispatch from Black Friday

Every year I make an expedition to the Mall of America on Black Friday with no specific agenda. Living in downtown Minneapolis, I can buy an all-day Metro Transit pass for $5, saving $1.55 in gasoline, 13 pounds of carbon dioxide and a chip out of my soul. We were riding the lemon yellow light […]