Secrets of the City

Bob Evans!!!

Perkins sucks in comparison.

With Trader Joe’s and H&M, we’re caught up with most cities.

Punch Pizza should go national.

I wish we could trade in our Cub Foods stores for Albertson’s Jewel Grocery Stores. I grew up in Chicago with normal grocery stores. We have weird ones here: either warehouses like Cub, or fancy places like Lund’s/Byerly’s.

I was under the impression that Hipsters were supposed to hate chain anything.

Does that mean we can hate on the Chatterbox now.

With the St. Paul expansion — by definition, they are now a chain.

*Takes big swig of Haterade*

For what they charge for a glass of beer at the Chatterbox, they can pick up a copy of Battleship that has the actual pegs, not bar toothpics, as markers.

Well technically they are still a segment. But go a head and start the hate’n now to avoid the rush.

I think Redstone would be a decent national chain.

And Patina. Great gifts there.

several of those cool independent places in Block E should consider going national. I would start with Applebees and the Hard Rock Cafe. Hooters might not play well in middle America. Borders might do ok near college towns.

Target! I love that store I just wish I could shop there when I’m out of state!

And fix that cross-eyed Scooby-Doo in the men’s room that watches me pee.

I’d love to see the Yukon Club or Country Bar go national. It’d be nice on road trips to be able to pull off the interstate and suck down a few PBRs while watching a good bar fight and some bad karaoke. I don’t know where they’d find enough Mexican drag queens to take over the whole country though.

I’m wowed to get backup on Bob Evans in the first comment! For some more southern-fried flavor, we really ought to have Chick-fil-A, too.

Watching for oddball local chains is one of my favorite travel pastimes. In my mind, It’s so much better than just picking an obscure mom & pop.

For some reason, I have a big thing for convenience stores. I don’t need Kum & Go, Flying J, or 7-11, but I sure wish SuperAmerica would have frozen drinks at more locations, and match their selection of Slurpee™ flavors. Other cities need more impossibly busy Bobby & Steve’s Auto Worlds (like the lunchtime at 494 & France, or nights at 35W & Washington).

Discount stores like Pamida, Gibson’s, and Caldor (defunct) are awesome, too.

Minneapolis needs a kum ‘n go.

Or maybe I do.

I lose track.

nah, I definitely do.

wait, supervalu bought albertson’s and i’m pretty sure we (i’m an employee) aren’t going to be opening stores in the metro area. well, supervalu doesn’t open stores, they just supply them.

I’ve always wanted Sonic to make it up here.

Drive-in + Cherry limeade = cooler than Wendy’s or Hardee’s

(Also, if you check their store map, it seems Sonic is predicting an impending Minnesota annexation of Grand Forks.)

I can’t wait for the punch pizza to open next door to my building!

Also, Trader Joe’s needs to say “wow look at the success of the SLP store!” and open up one actually IN THE CITY now.

There’s a big difference between Trader Joe’s rampant success with the suburbanistas and making it in the city. It’d certainly be an interesting experiment though. Apparently there are talks of putting one down right by the Wedge. The little coop that could is not amused.

I’d like to see a Sunflower Market here. It’s also owned by Supervalu.

Taco Cabana and a Chik-Fil-A that’s off the U campus.

If Albertson’s coming from the Pacific Northwest, we need FredMeyer too. That place rocks for guns, guacamole, generic pop, liquor, and top soil. It’s the Wild West’s version of Super Target. Their hock their jewels in local malls, but I want a 1-stop mega-store somewhere it would really be appreciated like Corcoran.

More PNW chains not in Minnesota (to my knowledge): Safeway, Grocery Outlet (like the Pamida of canned and dried foods), Fred Meyer, QFC (King Soopers in Colorado, Kroger in Ohio). Not that you can’t get the same stuff at Target or Cub. Trader Joe’s is the only “unique” chain store I would wish upon someplace else. $3 wine, $4 imported cheese, and all the weird flatbread-pita-tortilla thingys you could ever dream up. TJ’s is definitely a “city” store out here in Seattle & Portland.

There are a number of stores that I’m surprised aren’t here. Off the top of my head:
Levenger
West Elm
Blush

A CB2 would be a nice alternative to IKEA. I wish Pei Wei (the counter-service version of PF Changs) would open some inner-ring locations.

I thought we had Lush, but I guess the Basin store at the MOA is not the same thing. Close enough, though.

Is CB2 a different entity than Crate and Barrel or did they just rename themselves? I have the catalog…I’m not impressed.

In and Out Burger.

Good call Question! I love West Elm. So nice.

And CB2 is different. On their site they say, “Modern furnishings for apartment, loft, home.”

There’s a Cosi opening in the IDS center. Are they any good?

Basin is to Lush as Totinos is to pizza.

Oh gosh, I wish a Sonic would open somewhere. They advertise like crazy on TV and to what end? For all I know Sonic sux, I just wanna try that damn cherry limeade.

Also, Dunkin Donuts please.

And any chain of real Chicago style pizza would rock my world. Lou Malnati’s is my preference. C’mon we’re only 400 miles away.

Soap opera, you could have said Basin is to Lush as Totinos is to Totinos.

We need more Granite City’s. Also there is a really really good Italian place based out of Sioux Falls that has expanded like crazy called Spezia’s. I also wouldn’t mind a normal grocery store as well. Its either warehouse stores like Cub or a fancy place like Lunds. We need HEBs!!

And any chain of real Chicago style pizza would rock my world.

Pizza Uno is pretty good. The one in Chicago and the chains up here taste exactly the same.

No no no no no NO NO!

The original Pizzeria Uno/Due are an order of magnitude better than the knockoff chain restaurants. I still enjoy the chain variety, but that’s only because I can’t afford to be in Chicago all the time for pizza.

We need a Piggly Wiggly simply because their logo rocks.

Piggly Wiggly has no variety. I hate the wobbly hog!

chains = suburban hum drum

support your local businesses i say.

How about 7-11 or White Hen? Were is my slurpee?

Sam, Cosi are great… ate there for the first time in downtown Chicago (right across from Millennium Park)

think Panera but a bit “fancier” if you will, maybe like a chain version of Caffe Latte, with the deli style ordering, etc.

that’s pretty cool news

also, there is ONE Dunkin’ Donuts left in MN, and it’s in Austin. there used to be one in the cities though, either Fridley or Blaine i believe, it’s been gone for a while i think.

as for 7-11, that would make my life complete…

but they don’t seem like they’re ever going to be coming back any time soon (they closed up here just before i moved here in ‘99)

Once ubiquitous, 7-Eleven stores are no longer found in some Midwestern states. In May 1998, it was announced that 113 7-Eleven stores would be sold and converted into Kum & Go stores. Other 7-Elevens, especially those in larger cities like Minneapolis-St Paul, closed. In states like Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, other convenience stores like SuperAmerica, QuikTrip, Casey’s, and Speedway occupy the same market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Eleven

apparently there’s a Cosi opening in downtown Wayzata (about 6 miles west of me here) very soon too, cool

There was a Dunkin Donuts on 7th Ave in Anoka, just a couple blocks from where I grew up until, tragically, it burned down. Probably about 10-15 years ago. I don’t know if there were other DDs around the cities, of if this was the one and only.

Thugga, here’s the one i was referring to above:

http://twincities.citysearch.com/profile/35734912

it was a Dunkin’ Donuts until at least ‘00 or ‘01, as i went there once after i moved here in ‘99.

i called that number listed and it’s now called Cafe (?) Donuts.

Here is a second for In And Out Burger.
How about House of Pies?
Or a Texas Roadhouse?
Is a Baskin Robbins too much to ask for?

I remember a Baskin Robbins on the UMN campus in the late 80s-early 90s and Dunkin’ Donuts up by the Savers in Columbia Heights during that same era.

I would vote for getting outposts of Muji, Zara, Pret A Manger, Top Shop, Uniqlo.

What is House of Pies?!! It sounds wonderful!

Oh, and a Barney’s too! Definitely I would love to see Barney’s (and Barney’s Co-op) open here.

We could use an in-n-out burger !

Meetoo, I’m with you. I *love* House of Pies! I discovered it first in Houston in the late 80s, and found one in LA a few years ago. Yum!!

Re Baskin-Robins, the last metro location was on Valley View Rd near Southdale. B-R was moving to a new concept with 3 kinds of stores within a single location. They wanted to close all the existing locations before opening the new concept stores here, and B-R wouldn’t renew the license/franchise. The new concept must have tanked since they never did open up here, and their website doesn’t mention any other brand in their stores.

Cosi is a great place. Lots of variety and more ethnic-tinged foods than a Panera, but nothing too far out. They should do well here.