We are extremely pleased to officially announce our 9th restaurant and 2nd location outside of the Chicago Metro area. We finalized a deal to put our brand new concept City Works into a redevelopment project called Mayo Clinic Square in downtown Minneapolis.
We could not be more excited about this location and we believe that it will allow us to continue to grow in an area that capitalizes on some of our strengths. Minneapolis is a very strong beverage market and the food scene has been on a tear in recent years. This exact location is situated at the entrance of the Theatre District and also is one block from the Target Center where the Timberwolves and Lynx play, and Target Field where the Twins reside. Across the street are Fogo De Chao and a very large and successful restaurant called Seven.
We will have a 10,300 square foot corner space on the ground floor, as well as an entrance from the pedestrian skyway that intersects this building. On the second floor, they have locked in some great office tenants, as well as the pedestrian skyway that is constantly bustling with activity and concludes at the Target Center on the other side of our building. On the third floor, Mayo Clinic has opened a high end performance and physical therapy clinic in 25% of the space and the Timberwolves and Lynx have moved their practice facilities into the other 75%. There is also a large Loews hotel in the complex.
Some stats about Minneapolis and MN:
– The Twin Cities have the highest employment rate for 18-34 year olds in the country.
– Minneapolis-St Paul is the headquarters of 19 Fortune 500 companies, more than any other metro area its size, spanning retail (Target), healthcare (United Health) and food (General Mills).
– Among residents under 35, the Twin Cities place in the Top 10 for highest college graduation rate, highest median earnings and lowest poverty rate, according to the most recent census figures.
– The Theatre District on Hennepin Avenue (our front door) hosted over 450 shows and welcomed over 513,000 patrons in 2014.
– Dynamic Cultural District drew over 3.6 million people to the theatres, museums and galleries, and another 4 million fans attended an event at one of the downtown arenas.
We began construction in the 3rd quarter of 2015, and aim to open in the 1st quarter of 2016. You will certainly hear much more about this in the coming months, but we hope you all share in the enthusiasm, and we would like to thank our great team in helping build this company and take on another exciting opportunity.
Chris Bisaillon