The presentations are now available from the May 16, business forum.  A big thank you to Sawatdee for hosting our group and for sponsoring this month’s event.  We are grateful for Cyndy and Supenn’s hospitality.

 

 

The topic for the May business forum was “Crime and Safety, Sentencing and Restorative Justice.”

Dan’s PowerPoint slides

Spotlight Presentations:

• Vanessa Haight, EPNI Executive Director and Kim Forbes EPNI Board Chair – Why we love Elliot Park Neighborhood.”
• Charles Carlson, Metro Transit

Thank you to our Featured Presenters:

• Mark Osler, Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas;
• Mary Ellen Heng, Deputy City Attorney; and
• Tina Sigel, Program Manager at Restorative Justice Community Action, Inc.

 

The East Town Business Partnership held its Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Best Western Normandy Inn.  There were over 75 people in attendance.

Elections to the ETBP Board of Directors took place at this meeting.  We welcomed five new board members:

• Jacquie Berglund, Finnegans
• Richard Kiemen, Sherman Associates
• Julia Lauwagie, Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge
• Deborah Moses, House of Charity
• Theresa Pesch, Hennepin Healthcare

A big thank you goes out to our retiring board members for their years of service to this board.

• Siyad Abdullahi, Language Banc
• Tom Hayes, Hennepin Healthcare
• Brian Maupin, Allied Parking
• Paul Mellblom, MSR Design (outgoing board chair)
• Tim Tucker, Augustana Care

They helped guide us through the re-branding of the organization from the East Downtown Council to the East Town Business Partnership.  We will forever be grateful for their commitment to this organization and the East Town Business District.

We also celebrated Paul Mellblom’s retirement as the President of the East Town Business Partnership Board of Directors.  He has been a tireless advocate for this organization with elected officials, civic leaders, the business community and the press.  The board gifted Paul with a piece of Word Art that is a compilation of words that describe his outstanding character.  We will miss his leadership.

In addition to the regular board business that takes place at the Annual Meeting.  We had a great program.  The title for this month’s forum was “Advancing Arts and Entertainment in East Town.”  The panel of speakers included:

• Britt Udesen, Executive and Artistic Director, The Loft Literary Center
• Cassie Garner, Gallery Director, Gamut Gallery
• Ben Kelly, Organizer, Good Arts Collective

We’ve put together an information sheet that briefly describes many of the arts based organizations located in the East Town Business District.  It’s available via the link below.

East Town Arts and Entertainment Guide

Finally, we would like to thank this year’s sponsor of the East Town Business Partnership Annual Meeting, the Minnesota Vikings.

A link to the Annual Meeting PowerPoint presentation is available here.

MINNEAPOLIS (April 2, 2019) — The mpls downtown council announced today the launch of
Chameleon Shoppes, a Chameleon Consortium pop-up retail initiative based out of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan. Chameleon Consortium’s work focuses on the experiential and economic vitality of downtown Minneapolis. Its purpose is to create vibrant downtown experiences by transforming empty retail spaces into equity opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses.

Chameleon Shoppes provides unique, interesting and dynamic shopping experiences for downtown workers, residents and visitors, including food, snacks, sauces, candles, soaps, art, woodworking, jewelry, apparel, pet accessories, spices and more.

Chameleon Shoppes launched April 1 on the ground and skyway levels of Gaviidae Common (651 Nicollet) and runs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 am-2 pm through April 26 with special hours and times on April 1-8:

• April 1-5: 10 am-2 pm
• April 6-7: 12 pm-4 pm
• April 8: 10 am-2 pm
• April 10-12: 10 am-2 pm
• April 17-19: 10 am-2 pm
• April 24-26: 10 am-2 pm

“The mpls downtown council is focused on and committed to enhancing our retail scene along
Nicollet from 5th to 10th streets,” said Steve Cramer, president & ceo of the mpls downtown council. “With our growing residential population and dynamic downtown workforce, we are focused on not only enhancing retail in our city’s core but also offering pathways for local business to gain exposure and thrive.”

Chameleon Consortium relied on several organizations throughout this initiative: Neka Creative
(anchor brand partner), Impact Hub MSP (administrative partner) and Shop Northside, a program of the West Broadway Business & Area Coalition, to help bring local, dynamic retail to the downtown core.

“Chameleon Shoppes is about incubating small business and offering a chance for local makers to gain new exposure,” said Dan Collison, director of downtown partnerships at the mpls downtown council. “Our mission is to revitalize downtown space with incredible offerings while helping these local businesses thrive.”

A collection of retailers taking part in April’s pop-up at Gaviidae Common include:

Adorn By Kella
Ancient Indian Spices
Angela Davis Art
Black Excellence
Body Love Products
Bowtie Billionaire
Cald2Art
Charles Caldwell
Christstyle’s Closet
Coffee and Crumbs
Cuddle Mutt
Dancing Bear
Excelsior Candle
Femelle Spirit
Hagen and Oats
Hair Love
Healthy Helpful Insight
Hip-Pop
Hippy Feet
Homegrown Company
Honey’s
House of Talents
Junita’s Jar
Just Hair USA
L.I.F.E
Lady Staxx Acessories
MEND
Nature’s Syrup
Northern Thread
PERK
Reparation Apparel
Salty Tart
Sebesta Apothecary
Siena Soap Company
Tashonda (Makeup)
The Black Threadist
The Cat Lab
ThisFem
Tiangy
Tina Dionne Jewelry
Triple Crown MPLS
Twiggy Fresh
Up Your Image
Vintage Poole Boy
We Wanna Rock
West Indies Soul Food
Wonderous Crane

Chameleon Shoppes will hold a media event on April 11 at 12 pm to highlight the retailers and
showcase the activated space.

To learn more about Chameleon Shoppes, including location, activities and more, visit
www.chameleonshoppes.com.

For more information, follow @mplsdowntown on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the
hashtags #mplsdowntown and #mymplsdt.

About the mpls downtown council:
Founded in 1955, and one of the most historic central business associations in the nation, the mpls downtown council (mdc) is a membership-based entity that works to create an extraordinary downtown. The mdc’s collaborative developments of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. For more information, please visit mplsdowntown.com.

About Chameleon Consortium:
The Chameleon Consortium is a private-public group dedicated to the experiential and economic vitality of downtown Minneapolis. Its purpose is to create vibrant downtown experiences by transforming empty retail spaces into equity opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses. Chameleon Shoppes is a pop-up retail initiative on the ground and skyway levels of Gaviidae Common in downtown Minneapolis that will feature 50 retailers beginning April 1 and running Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 am-2 pm through April 26. For more information, visit www.chameleonshoppes.com.

https://www.chameleonconsortium.com/shopping-spree/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The presentations are now available for the March 21, joint business forum with the Minneapolis Downtown Council.  We had an excellent turnout of both membership groups with over 90 attendees.

A big thank you to Dorsey & Whitney for hosting our group for sponsoring this month’s event.

 

 

 

The topic for the March business forum was “The Economic Opportunities of Engaging Homelessness.”

Thank you to our Guest Presenters:

Acooa Ellis, Greater Twin Cities United Way
Commissioner Angela Conley, Hennepin County
Ben Horowitz, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
John Quincy, Youthlink