Lyndale Avenue South at Lake Street West
From what I hear the rent costs at this intersection have been wildly out of line with the true costs for years now, if what I’ve heard is right. Setting that aside for a moment, there is plenty of story to be had. Heck, someone on streets.mn even did a photo essay of all the vacant storefronts back in 2016.
Not a lot has changed… but with the pandemic some things are definitely changing here
Northeast Corner
It’s Greek To Me used to live here until it closed in September 8, 2019 after a stellar 37 year run. They tried a few different things at the end but… didn’t really make a difference, blaming the sale of the parking lot behind them as one big factor of the closure. Not going to say much about the service, which we found hit or miss over time.
To the north (past Jungle Theater) you’d find Muddy Waters, which just closed on May 2, 2020. To the east you find Trio Plant-Based, holding down one of the “cursed” locations of the intersection.
But the corner itself has been sitting empty for 8 months and there is no word of any new restaurants opening there, or any redevelopment.
Southeast Corner
Held down by Iron Door Pub since 2015 after much drama, we’ve found it a good place for decently priced strong drinks. It’s not Cause… but it turned out to be a great place to watch the game.
The stores to the south of it have come and gone without much fuss.
Southwest Corner
Currently held down by Prieto Taqueria Bar, opened last year. This corner has a story of being a really hard spot to hold down for any length of time after the demise of Falafel King. Not quite cursed… yet.
Next door to the south you have Blue Door Pub which took over the spot from the much-missed Country Bar & Grill, then Caffrey’s Deli & Subs, which along with Cause saw its share of drama.
Only Caffrey’s looks like it’ll come out of pandemic closure more or less unscathed.
Northwest Corner
Most people don’t even think of this corner at this point except for the big ole sign built on its roof:
It’s been empty for years after Milio’s closed. Redfin has it off market and valued around 825K… but doesn’t actually say if anything is being developed anymore.
It’d make a hell of a rooftop if it weren’t for the sign.
Next door to the north you have Moto-i—which does have one hell of a rooftop, and Lyn-Lake Brewery, which also has a great rooftop.
So what now?
The big worry for a lot of people around here is having Lyn-Lake turn into another Uptown. We have heard people refer to this part of town as Uptown and… it just doesn’t sit right, really. The main similarity they’ll have is multiple empty storefronts all over.
It is not one we appreciate. Here is hoping this intersection rebounds sooner rather than later. I’m sure there are more intersections in other cities that have complicated histories and complicated stories.
Tell us in the comments.