Your business week, 11/8 – 11/14
No light rail for you! Unless you have a ticket to Super Bowl.
- Only ticket holders will be able to take the LRT system into Minneapolis on Super Bowl Sunday, 2/4/2018. Plan accordingly.
- The reason? Metro Transit cites security reasons for limiting ridership, as both the Blue and the Green Line stop at U.S. Bank Stadium.
- Many Twin Cities residents, however, are calling foul, saying that the system is being reserved for elite, wealthy visitors in town for the game, leaving the rest of us out in the dust.
Minnesota Department of Commerce launches a new website to offer support for consumers from all backgrounds.
- Read our coverage here: MN Department of Commerce debuts new multilingual website
Minneapolis
Walker chief walks: Olga Viso, Chief at the Walker Art Center, quits executive director position.
- Viso, head since 2008, leaves amidst large changes at the Walker: A recently-completed $41 million renovation, lingering controversy surrounding an ill-advised scaffold sculpture in museum’s adjacent sculpture garden.
- The decision, however, is completely Olga Viso’s according to Walker spokeswoman Rachel Joyce, though she wasn’t asked to stay. According to a Star Tribune report, the Walker board is “in strong agreement that the timing is right. Olga certainly feels that way.”
St. Paul
Como Dockside, the controversial restaurant in Como Park, is closing.
- The New Orleans-themed lakeside bar and eatery will be closing next week, 11/22.
- Controversial, as it cost the city $800,000 to remove the former tenant, Black Bear Crossings, from the space to make way for Dockside in 2014. The new restaurant opened in January of 2015, not quite two years ago.
- A Facebook post on the closing reads as follows:
Patrons-
It is with regret and sorrow we need to inform you that Como Dockside will be closing our doors permanently. We welcome you to come in during regular business hours (Monday closed, Tuesday thru Thursday 11:00am to 9:00pm, Friday 11:00am to 10:00pm, Saturday 8:00am to 10:00pm and Sunday 8:00am to 5:00pm) to celebrate the fantastic experience we have had here. We are grateful for your support. Our last dinner service will be on Wednesday November 22nd.
Thank You.
The team at Como Dockside
Metro
Buffalo Wild Wings made an offer they can’t refuse.
- Roark Capital Group, based in New York, is offering $2.3 billion for the Golden Valley-based chicken wings, beer, and obscene-amount-of-TVs chain restaurant.
- The announcement is good news for BWWs: Shares jumped from $117(ish) up to $148 per after the announcement. Shares has previously been plummeting, down 23% due to declining patronage. Millennials, apparently, aren’t all that into mass-market chicken wings.
- Roark also owns stake in Arby’s, Carvel, and Carl’s Jr. (better known as Hardees around here).
Andersen Corporation makes (green) splash at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston.
- Read our coverage here: Andersen Windows showcase green initiatives in new buildings
Beyond
Lyft is expanding beyond U.S. borders.
- The #2 ridesharing service, which, while still trailing #1 Uber, has been making steady gains all year, will begin operating in Toronto by next month (December).
- Good news for Lyft, which has been capitalizing on a series of missteps by Uber, and probably for Canadians as well.
- More rides, more money. Or is it the other way around? Lyft recently completed a $1 billion fundraising round (through Alphabet’s CapitalG fund), placing them now at an $11 billion valuation.
