🍽 Which local restaurants got relief

Plus: Where exactly is "up north"? | Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Twin Cities By Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Audrey Kennedy ·Jul 14, 2021 🐪 Good morning! It's Wednesday. ⛈ Rain is on the way! Rejoice, but watch out for severe storms. Today's newsletter is 903 words, a 3.5-minute read.     1 big thing: Restaurant fund rescues some, not all Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   Minnesota restaurants got $525 million in relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. But when the $28.6 billion federal program dried up two weeks ago, roughly 2,600 applicants here were left on the sideline. Driving the news: The Small Business Administration released its data last week on which restaurants received grants, and how much money they received. More than 1,715 Minnesota-based businesses received grants ranging from $1,500 to $10 million. How it works: Restaurants, breweries and caterers can use the money to cover costs like previous rent, mortgage and payroll — or for things like new outdoor seating. But they must use it by March 2023. Zoom in: The owners of multiunit restaurant groups D'Amico ($10 million), Blue Plate ($9.8 million), Crave ($9.1 million) and Cara Irish Pubs ($8.4 million) were among the biggest recipients in Minnesota. Of note: The SBA granted $5.7 million to Leslie Bock's two restaurants, Betty Danger's and Psycho Suzi's. Flashback: Bock renamed Betty Danger's Country Club to Betty Danger's Animal Farm and told the Business Journal the George Orwell theme is a nod to how politicians and the press handled COVID-19. She couldn't be reached for comment. Meanwhile, the owners of Pazzaluna got a $2.9 million grant. The downtown St. Paul restaurant has been closed since March of 2020. Morrissey Hospitality president Richard Dobransky said his group is in the process of creating a new concept for the space, but it won't be Pazzaluna and it won't be nearly as big. "Whatever it's going to be, it's going to be a much smaller footprint," Dobransky said. "At some point we plan to return some type of bar component, and maybe a takeout-delivery component." What's next: Several members of Congress have introduced a bill to pump $60 billion more into the fund. Full story.     2. Quoted: What Sunisa Lee means for Hmong women Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images   "Suni represents so much more than the athletics and the competition, the fact that she's reached this threshold moment in her career. It's what so many women of my generation who are in our 40s were trying to fight for when we were in our 20s because we remember what it's like to actually be not allowed to participate in tennis or in gymnastics or just in any kind of sport." — MayKao Hang, founder of Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together, on what Minnesota gymnast Sunisa Lee's Olympic bid means for the Hmong community (MPR News)     3. Catch up quick: Sailor returns home, 80 years later The remains of Navy Fireman 1st Class Neal Todd were taken from a jet at the Minneapolis airport before heading to Akeley. Photo: Tribune via Getty Images   🇺🇸 Neal Todd died 80 years ago in Pearl Harbor. Finally, his remains were brought home to the northern Minnesota town of Akeley, where he was laid to rest. (Park Rapids Enterprise) 📑 Gov. Tim Walz reappointed three former members to the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board Tuesday, ending months of paralysis caused by a lack of quorum. (Torey's tweet) 🚨 State Rep. John Thompson continues to face questions about his residency following a recent traffic stop. Here's a breakdown of the issues at play. (MPR News) 💰 Eden Prairie cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf raised $150 million from investors and is now valued at a whopping $4.3 billion. (Star Tribune)     A message from Facebook The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too     It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. See why we support updated regulations on key issues, including: Protecting people's privacy. Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms. Preventing election interference. Reforming Section 230.     4. We want know: What is up north? Grand Marais is certainly up north. But where does "up north" begin? Photo: Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via Getty Images   "Once you get over that Anoka County line and head north, your troubles are behind you." — The late Twin Cities radio personality Dark Star It's summer, and that means droves of Twin Cities residents are heading north to cabins, campsites and lodges in northern Minnesota. But what exactly is "up north"? We want to know: What places or geographic features signify to you that you are up north? Where does up north begin? Reply to this email with your responses and we may include them in a newsletter. Of note: This question was inspired by Heather Brown's Good Question on WCCO-TV.     5. End of an era: Wild cut ties with Suter, Parise Ryan Suter and Zach Parise celebrate a goal in Game 7 of the playoff loss to Las Vegas. It was likely their last time playing together for the Wild. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images   The Minnesota Wild are buying out the final four years of contracts for Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. The intrigue: Fans expected Parise to be cut loose, but the Suter move was a surprise. Flashback: Wild owner Craig Leipold gave the Suter and Parise matching 13-year, $98 million contracts in 2012. While the duo brought the franchise back to relevance, they never took the team further than the second round of playoffs. Why it matters: The Athletic's Michael Russo, who broke the story, reports that the club will save $10 million in cap space that it can use to resign young stars Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala — and to potentially sign a No. 1 center. Wild owner Craig Leipold (left), Ryan Suter (middle) and Zach Parise, in 2012, when the two signed 13-year contracts with the Wild. Photo: Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images     6. One cool thing to go: Rent a pool by the hour Who needs an E. coli-filled lake, when you can have this? Photo: Jean-Christophe Pratt/Getty Images   Yeah, Minneapolis is the City of Lakes, but sometimes you just want to jump in a pool. There's an app for that. How it works: Swimply, the Airbnb for private pools, lets owners list when their pool is available for interested swimmers to rent by the hour. The Twin Cities have about a dozen options on the platform, with rates from $40-$100/hr. Depending on the pool, renters can bring between 10 and 25 guests. What they're saying: The Star Tribune's Erica Pearson rented "Montrose Moderne," a "secluded and elegant tropical oasis" in St. Paul. She said the experience felt like a mini stay-cation. But, but, but: Unless you've got a big group of friends to split the cost, it's probably cheaper to get a $10 day pass at your local public pool — or jump in a lake. 🏊‍♂️ Our thought bubble: Audrey grew up in Houston in a house with a private pool. They will always be superior to any lake, ocean or YMCA. Nick and Torey's response: Have your pool. More space for us in the lakes and oceans.     A message from Facebook Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations     2021 is the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the last major update to internet regulation. It's time for an update to set clear rules for addressing today's toughest challenges. See how we're taking action on key issues and why we support updated internet regulations.   Thanks for reading! Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? 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