Our goal is to offer readers diverse perspectives on newsworthy events or issues of broad public concern to the Hill & Lake community.
Show Lowry Hill Meats Love!
Eight years ago, our neighborhood was abuzz with news that a butcher shop would be opening on Hennepin Avenue next door to Burch Steak and Pizza (RIP) in Lowry Hill. After years of delivering amazing quality food, Lowry Hill Meats announced it will be closing its doors on June 30.
Little did we know the impact a butcher shop could make in our lives.
Lowry Hill Meats has enhanced the quality of daily meals in our homes, greatly enriching holiday meals and making us feel extra special knowing that we are supporting local businesses and agriculture. A sudden craving for a very good “sammy” is more than satisfied at Lowry Hill Meats, which has what many of us consider to be the best burger in town!
Erik Sather, the owner, and his team continuously seek out the best possible meats and ingredients in our region — all for our benefit. Local is better, always!
Erik has provided not just one or two Community Sourced Agriculture, or CSA, options but multiple ones over the years, again emphasizing the importance of supporting our local community.
Delivering this level of quality isn’t an easy task in a small storefront situation.
Why did they do it? Because they knew it makes an important impact on our community. And we all benefited.
The fine quality meats, charcuterie and cheese platters become a staple for our weekend dinner parties, family BBQs and holiday tables. They have also made the best pantry products on the market available to us long before we saw them in big box grocery stores and co-ops. All of these things add up to a remarkable retail shop on our front steps.
Let’s not forget Covid!
Lowry Hill Meats adjusted like champs and made our lives better and easier throughout Covid. Remember the meat shortages? The unsafe conditions in mass production meat facilities?
We didn’t need to worry. Erik and his business quickly established safe practices and supplied us with everything we needed. That was a huge benefit, and they never faltered, retaining their positive attitude and simply making it easy for us.
Show Them Love!
Erik and his team have cared for us as a community since day one. They did good. We owe it to them to thank them and support their new label “Lowry Hill Provisions” in local grocery stores and food cooperatives. Please, thank them for their business and support them as they evolve.
Lara Miklasevics | Kenwood
What To Do About Hennepin?
Readers have asked what can be done to get the city to revise its plans for the makeover of Hennepin Avenue between Douglas Avenue and Lake Street, a prototype of which can be viewed in Uptown between Lake and 31st Streets, where businesses are shuttered or hanging on by a hair.
The answer seems to be nothing.
Council Member Lisa Goodman voted against it and did what she could to prevent it. There is no point in calling her.
Other city officials repeatedly say it’s a done deal as it has been approved by the council and by Mayor Frey, after he successfully vetoed the 24/7 bus lanes that would have removed 93% of on-street parking permanently.
With the veto, parking will remain during off peak hours until transit numbers are met, so parking could disappear at any point.
There is no stopping it now, they say.
Which is painfully reminiscent of what we were told about the chosen Southwest Light Rail route years ago.
I’d planned to write about Hennepin Avenue and Uptown for this issue, and what we might be able to do to help rebuild it in a way that serves our entire community.
But there are many moving pieces to that story, and I got distracted by leaf blowers. I’ll get back to Uptown in the July issue.
Tell us what you think!
In the meantime, we would love to hear your creative but realistic ideas for getting the city to rethink the Hennepin Avenue plan. Or, why you think it’s a good plan. The only requirement is that you take a thorough look at the plans before responding. Email me at susan@hillandlakepress.org
Susan Lenfestey | Lowry Hill
Good laugh!
I enjoyed the April Fools story in the April 2023 edition.
Brought me back to my days as the Hill & Lake Press editor from Cedar-Isles-Dean in the 1980s.
In those days, each of the four Hill & Lake neighborhoods provided a volunteer editor, and we rotated issues. I often did the April edition and when I did, we always ran an April Fools page!
My very best effort was the year we had a “story” about a home for exiled dictators in Lowry Hill.
The punchline of the story was that the only ones to profit were the dictators and the realtors.
Never thought anyone would believe the story, but I later learned that an irate reader contacted the local office of Representative Martin Sabo to complain about how this could have been allowed.
Fortunately, Kathleen Anderson, who ran Mr. Sabo’s local office at the time, was an East Isles resident and Hill & Lake Press lover.
She was able to set the reader straight by reminding them to look at the issue date and note the April Fools disclaimer!
The power of the Hill & Lake Press indeed!
Gary Cohen | Golden Valley
2040 Bait and Switch
As a 20-year real estate developer with an urban and regional planning background, I found the February 2023 article in the Hill & Lake Press on the 2040 plan changes to be mostly on point.
Not only is there a feeling of bait and switch, but it also represents another example of the city’s confusing us with a poorly planned agenda and no real opportunity for residents to provide input.
In the online public survey, the city states that Lowry Hill and surrounding communities are “areas with a range of allowed building types, as well as uses which are commonly found in residential areas.”
Are four plus unit dwellings (multi-family), daycares, fraternity and sorority houses, single room occupancy and state care facilities, etc., commonly found in residential areas? They aren’t.
They are found on the edges of residential areas for logical reasons, and proven planning best practices, which city staff choose to ignore. Homeowner property values will fall, and very little if any affordable housing will be created.
I’m not against these uses, but there is a place for them, and it’s not in Lowry Hill. The city should be adding value to these historic neighborhoods, not devaluing them by erasing our single-family zoning protection.
I was told by one of our city representatives that with the current restrictions on the Urban Neighborhood 2 (UN2) designation, the development of four plus units is unlikely. If it’s unlikely, then why have the designation?
I was also told that any constituent oppositional comments would have zero effect, and what’s done is done. Then why open it up for comment? It’s smoke and mirrors.
Chad Harkin | Lowry Hill
