Three New Restaurants, Coffee Shop Will Be In Duffey
Three historic warehouses that once had stockpiles of steel beams and, later, massive quantities of paper, have been renovated into Duffey Lofts, a commercial/residential project that’s now welcoming new residents. And in the coming months, it will welcome diners and coffee drinkers as well.
Two fast-casual restaurants, Stalk & Spade and another that’s yet to be announced, will share an entrance near 6th and Washington. On the opposite end, in the red brick portion, will be a (still undisclosed) fine dining restaurant. And in between–in the apartment building’s lobby–will be a coffee shop that will also provide a new public co-working space, similar to what we currently have near FRGMNT in The Nordic tower. That coffee shop will also serve light bites.
Lobby with future coffee shop and co-working space
“We really want a lot of fast-casual in this building,” said lease-up manager Gunnar Blakeway-Walen. “We love all the fine dining restaurants in the North Loop and we wouldn’t change any of them out. We just want to add to the growing market of fast-casual, some places to get lunch. A lot of people are living in the North Loop now and working from home.”
Once the coffee shop is ready to open, the public will be allowed in the lobby during business hours with available WiFi and a public printer. And visitors will notice several historic artifacts in the room.
Most notable may be the original crane near the ceiling that was used to load steel beams onto flatbed trucks when the building was used as a warehouse for The Minneapolis Iron Store Company. And the lobby shelves are made of repurposed wood salvaged from the building.
Ads from the mid-1920s
There are 188 apartments at Duffey Lofts, most of them studio or 1-bedroom units. Many have exposed brick and great views of the neighborhood.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer
