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New Kieran’s location christened with parade, pints
UPDATED March 16, 2010, 5:02pm
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By Gregory J. Scott
A line of green-shirted wait staff and the scent of freshly dried plaster greeted the first guests at the new Kieran’s Irish Pub, which opened this afternoon in the old Bellanotte space in Block E.
Owner Kieran Folliard unlocked the door to his new pub around 4 p.m., welcoming a throng of several hundred revelers who had paraded over from the old location, at 4th Street and 2nd Avenue. The Brian Boru Pipe Band — with their traditional kilts, bagpipes and drums — escorted the crowd into the 10,000 square foot bar.
Today’s parade also commemorated the pub’s golden birthday — it opened 16 years ago on March 16.
Crowds began gathering at the old Kieran’s location around 2 p.m. With the registers shut down, bartenders poured free pints for a few hours, asking drinkers to leave a donation in a metal bucket. At 3 p.m., Adam Coolong from Celtic rock band The Wild Colonial Bohys led a live auction for the final pints ever to be served at the old location.
Single beers went for hundreds of dollars a piece, with the final pint of Guinness selling for $500. One woman paid $425 dollars for the final shot of Jameson.
All proceeds from the free pint donations and the auction went to Folliard’s commitment to send a 16-year-old Hopkins boy to this year’s World Cup in South Africa, as part of the Make-A-Wish program.
Marc and Kris, a couple from Bloomington, said that they had been coming to Kieran’s every weekend since the late '90s.
“This feels like a peoples’ pub,” said Kris. “It’s the most cozy out of all of [Folliard’s] bars. It’s not pretentious. And it’s not a contrived American version of an Irish pub.”
The bagpipers led the parade out onto 4th Street. Longtime bartender Alice McGrath, who has worked at Kieran’s since it opened in 1994, marched arm-in-arm with Tony Winick, who according to McGrath, “is one of the longest regulars Kieran’s has ever had” and “an honorary employee.” Winick was the man who won the final pint of Guinness. He carried his prized pint, not spilling a drop, all the way to Block E. McGrath also marched with a full glass of Guinness, keeping a perfect one-inch head at brim level.
Opening toasts at the new location were planned for 5 p.m. The Wild Colonial Bohys and the St. Dominic’s Trio were scheduled to perform live music, with Rince na Chroi performing traditional Irish dances.
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Carmichael Lynch drops Harley account
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 2:29pm
By Gregory J. Scott
When it comes to selling muscle bikes, three decades is enough. Downtown advertising agency Carmichael Lynch announced August 23 that it was resigning from its Harley-Davidson account, ending a relationship of 31 years with the iconic motorcycle brand. In a prepared statement, Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch, said, "Our agency leadership came to the consensus that we've taken the Harley-Davidson brand as far as we can. It's in our best interest to part ways." Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s CMO, said, "Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, Carmichael Lynch chose a different path and we respect that." The
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Community notebook :: Florence Court apartments
By Gregory J. Scott
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At Florence Court, new apartments up, courtyard staysThe mid-August groundbreaking came and went quietly for the FloCo Fusion Apartments, a chic rebranding of a ramshackle cluster of student housing near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. Despite years of resistance from current residents, the new building is officially going up, fanfare or no. Florence Court, as the community used to be called, is one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Midwest, dating back to 1886. The L-shaped structure sits at the intersection of 10th Avenue SE and University Avenue, but is tucked back from the street, hidden until recently behind a BP gas station. The 33-unit complex surrounds a leafy courtyard, which its residents — a colorful
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Watching out for the homeless
By Sarah McKenzie
// Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award //After Jerry Fleischaker’s wife died of Alzheimer’s disease, he came across a newspaper article about St. Stephen’s Human Services’ work reaching out to homeless people with mental health issues. The story inspired him to start volunteering for St. Stephen’s. Now the 79-year-old retired pharmaceutical sales representative volunteers full time for the Downtown-based organization. “My wife died of Alzheimer’s in 2002. I saw the care she needed,” Fleischaker told Monica Nilsson, director of street outreach and community education for St. Stephen’s. “I was haunted by the thought that people might be
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Downtown visioning session looks to 2025
By jake weyer
// Whether to add a park north of Central Library will be part of the discussion, meant to produce a 15-year plan for Downtown //It’s been nearly 15 years since Downtown business leaders got together with city staff and elected officials to hash out a long-term plan for the area. Back in 1996, those stakeholders came up with Downtown 2010, a vision that included such grandiose plans as a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, a light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue, a new Central Library, completion of the Target Center and the development of the Downtown Improvement District — all realities today. “We’re standing now, planless,” said Sam Grabarski, president of the Downtown Council. “And a lot of good
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A mountain out of a bronze molehill?
By Gregory J. Scott
// The Sid Hartman statue stirs debate about public memorials Downtown //
OK, no one disputes that the guy deserves a statue. Sid Hartman, the nonagenarian sportswriter who has spent the last 65 years reporting for the Star Tribune and WCCO, is probably getting bronzed. The Department of Public Works is ironing out technical details for installing a metallic Sid replica, complete with TV reporter microphone and newspaper tucked under the arm, right outside of Target Center and a block from the Twins stadium, at the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. The Public Works assessment is the final stage in a roughly six-week approval process to get the statue out into the public. No one’s upset about that. As Nick Legeros, the artist who designed
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Biz buzz :: Construction costing Elliot Park businesses
By Gregory J. Scott
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For Elliot Park businesses, street improvements come with a price
True to its motto, Band Box Diner can turn “grease into a feast.” But the Elliot Park gem can’t make much out of the road construction that’s transformed its streetscape into a scarred industrial zone.
The throw-back diner is one of the businesses standing to benefit from a sweeping, 15-block reconstruction of Chicago Avenue South — if only it can survive through to the project’s completion.
“It’s kind of like, if you have a half hour for lunch, and then you get lost for 45 minutes, what are you gonna do?” says Brad Ptacek, who has operated the diner for the last 13 years.
Ptacek’s breakfast
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