Good liquor stores in Uptown area?

[whoopsie goldburg]

am i crazy or did they take down the hum's sign on the corner of the building?

there are loads of bad reviews of hennepin-lake online...most of which i agree with. the staff are about as snooty as they come, although the girls are very, very cute. haha

[gweilo845]

Originally Posted by Globe199

Whatever happened to the Trader Joe's shop that was considering the Lyndale area?

It's been put on hold because TJ's wouldn't be able to get a liquor license due to Hum's being in the area -- there's a Minneapolis ordinace that says liquor stores have to be a certain distance from each other.

Wedge vs. Trader Joe in Minneapolis | Twin Cities Daily Planet | Minneapolis - St. Paul

And as for hipster attitude from the employees at Hennepin-Lake, like I said, I've never experienced it, at least nothing like on the level I've gotten at Hum's. There's a couple of people that work there that are total jerks. I worked retail for many years and I know it isn't the greatest job, but it doesn't give you an excuse to treat your paying customers like second-class citizens because they don't have enough tattoos or aren't buying the "right" brand of beer.

[whoopsie goldburg]

the crust punks working at hum's all STINK! like bags of rotting onions. i am thinking about bringing them a gift basket of soaps and deodorants this christmas season as a cruel joke. but i've never really gotten the snooty "hipster" vibe from them. i would say that franklin-nicollet has the friendliest staff of the uptown area liquor stores, by far. the lowry hill folks seem nice too.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by gweilo845

It's been put on hold because TJ's wouldn't be able to get a liquor license due to Hum's being in the area -- there's a Minneapolis ordinace that says liquor stores have to be a certain distance from each other.

Wedge vs. Trader Joe in Minneapolis | Twin Cities Daily Planet | Minneapolis - St. Paul

That article is almost six months old though. Has no action been taken?

I simply don't understand the opposition to Trader Joe's. I've never been in Hum's, but I've heard from multiple people that their prices are outrageous. So there's probably a little bit of competition fear from them. Are they afraid they won't be able to get $10 for a bottle of Yellow Tail?

As far as the Wedge, well, people can vote with their wallets. The Wedge has good food, but not so good prices (unless you join). If it were somebody like Wal-Mart trying to open a store there, I'd understand. But TJ's has good food at pretty damn good prices. Their liquor selection is somewhat limited, but it's generally good stuff also at good prices.

[gweilo845]

I haven't heard anything new in the past few months. I have a couple of friends that work at the local bars and they haven't heard anything either. In that article, it says the proposed property manager has a pretty sketchy record. Maybe they thought it wouldn't be worth the trouble to have to go and get an exception to one of the local liquor laws, not to mention a local (and vocal) group who are against TJ's coming to the area.

I don't really see why TJ's would want to open a store at that location anyway. There's more than enough grocery stores in the area, and the St Louis Park store is only about 4 miles away.

I've never been in Hum's, but I've heard from multiple people that their prices are outrageous. So there's probably a little bit of competition fear from them.

I'm not a wine guy, but for beer and liquor, Hum's prices are about the same as all of the other stores in the area. Probably the opposition comes more from hipster "disgust" at a "big" chain than anything else.

If anything, though, I'm rooting a bit for TJ's because if they got an exception, it would help shoot a hole in yet another of Minneapolis/Minnesota's stupid and archaic liquor laws.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by gweilo845

I haven't heard anything new in the past few months. I have a couple of friends that work at the local bars and they haven't heard anything either. In that article, it says the proposed property manager has a pretty sketchy record. Maybe they thought it wouldn't be worth the trouble to have to go and get an exception to one of the local liquor laws, not to mention a local (and vocal) group who are against TJ's coming to the area.

I don't really see why TJ's would want to open a store at that location anyway. There's more than enough grocery stores in the area, and the St Louis Park store is only about 4 miles away.



I'm not a wine guy, but for beer and liquor, Hum's prices are about the same as all of the other stores in the area. Probably the opposition comes more from hipster "disgust" at a "big" chain than anything else.

If anything, though, I'm rooting a bit for TJ's because if they got an exception, it would help shoot a hole in yet another of Minneapolis/Minnesota's stupid and archaic liquor laws.

The hipsters must have never been in a TJ's. It's not exactly a store on which you could subsist. It's a market, but not a supermarket. Their meat selection is fairly limited. I don't think it would necessarily hurt the Wedge. But yeah, I agree about the disgust, that's probably part of it.

Regarding the liquor laws, AMEN to that.

[uptown_urbanist]

I support independent stores, too, and try to shop at them over chains whenever possible. But I was fine with a TJ's. I find some of the online comments that have been made about TJ's have included people complaining about TJ's being a chain store for "suburbanite soccer moms," and other similar rants. I found that funny, as the traditional target for TJ's has been the exact sort of people who are attracted to the Wedge and Whittier neighborhoods: educated people who like to travel but who have little money. (aka every grad student I know) Hipsters (and others) actually like TJ's in some cities. As far as suburban soccer moms, they shop at the Wedge, too. I really dislike the elitist attitude that pops up frequently from some of these protesters. Does there really have to be some sort of litmus test on coolness before a person can shop at a store? Same thing happened when it was announced that the Uptown Bar was closing; the same crowd complained about the destruction of independents and the "surburbanization" of Uptown (for the record, the owner of hte Uptown Bar wanted to sell, and was NOT forced out. Times change.)

While I do try to support independents over chains, the Wedge Co-op is pretty expensive, and a lot of neighborhood residents can't afford to do much shopping there. At least TJ's would have provided a cheaper alternative to those who need it. And realistically, most people don't shop exclusively TJ's or exclusively the Wedge.

And yes, I agree about the liquor laws. They do need to be overhauled.

[Globe199]

Regardless of whether the Uptown Bar owner chose to sell, you cannot deny that there has been a suburbaization of Uptown. I think part of the reason is that commercial property owners want stable tenants, ones who aren't going to fold in six months and then want out. So you get Victoria's Secret and other similar crap.

Anyone heard what's going in the new development attached to Calhoun Square?

[gweilo845]

I think the sale of the Uptown rankles a lot of people because it's one of the last places in the area from before the "Yuptown" change (ie, the original erectment of Calhoun Square). The Uptown Bar is a cool place, but I think a lot of people are looking back on the "glory" days of Uptown with rose-colored glasses, remembering only the good parts.

My family's first place in Minneapolis was in Lyn-Lake so I spent a lot of time as a kid in Uptown in the early 80's. Sure, it was fun doing stuff like spending a whole day watching a kung fu triple feature at the Uptown Theatre, but then you had stuff like obvious drug dealing, drunks puking in the street, etc.