East Lake Open Streets

“It’s not just about selling things — it’s about making connections.”

Article and photos by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

On Sun., Aug. 2 from 11am-5pm, two miles of E. Lake St. will be closed to cars for the first-ever East Lake Open Streets. Beginning at 42nd Ave. in Longfellow and stretching west to Elliot Ave. in Powderhorn, people using non-motorized transportation can experience E. Lake St. in a whole new way.

According to Alex Tsatsoulis, communications/development director for the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition (MBC), “We believe the East Lake Open Streets will become one of our many annual events celebrating healthy living and community. Minneapolis Open Streets events grew from one in 2011, to eight this year. Over the course of the summer, we’ll create miles of safe, open streets so residents can walk, bike, shop, play and get to know one another, as well as their local businesses.”

In other words, Open Streets = Happy Streets.

East Lake Open Streets is an initiative of the Coalition, but it takes a whole lot of cooperation and planning to pull off an event of this size. Partners include the Longfellow Business Association, the Longfellow Community Council, the Lake Street Council and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Center for Prevention. They’re all working closely with local business and community organizations to showcase E. Lake St. to the rest of the Twin Cities.

The idea for Open Streets began in Bogota, Columbia, nearly forty years ago. Every Sunday and public holiday, the densely crowded main streets are closed to cars and buses for seven hours. The idea has spread throughout Central America and Mexico and now is replicated across the United States as well. The event in Spanish-speaking countries is called Cyclovia, which simply means “cycleway.”

Jose Luis Villasenor is a community organizer for the MBC. “I see the East Lake event as symbolizing the rich history of Open Streets in Central America and Mexico,” he said. “We have a strong immigrant community here in Minneapolis, and it has centered on E. Lake St. for decades. I’ve used old-school techniques to recruit business owners to participate on Aug. 2, especially if they don’t speak English as their first language. I go from door to door talking about Open Streets, offering to help people get their permit applications, and explaining how closing the street can make their business stronger by building new connections.”

Many business owners are excited about Open Streets and, in addition to bringing their business out onto the street for the day, are adding performances and fun ways to engage with people.

Maya Santamaria, owner of the Mexican restaurant El Nuevo Rodeo at the corner of E. Lake and 27th Ave., has big plans. In addition to being a restaurateur, she is also the first Latina to own a radio station in the Upper Midwest. Her Midtown station simulcasts on 1400 and 1470AM, with Latino programming reaching almost to St. Cloud.

Photo right: The staff of weekday morning programming at La Raza radio station includes (L to R) Axel Najera, programming director; Fermin Olmedo, program host; and Juan Gaytan, producer. Their warmth and humor make listening a joy, whether or not you speak Spanish. 

The name of the station is La Raza, which Santamaria translated as, “the Latino people, united and empowered.” La Raza will be broadcasting live all day in front of El Nuevo Rodeo, and one of their most popular programs, Carne Asada, will be on air from 11am-4pm. The hosts will be grilling (that’s what carne asada is all about) on the sidewalk—selling tacos, margaritas, and other summer fare, dishing up their usual blend of humor and chatting with the audience in Spanish and English. From 4-5pm, host Jimmy Flores will spin a mix of Urban, Central American, and Caribbean music and, as Santamaria promised, “We will entice people to dance with us.”

“We hope every block will have some fun stuff on it,” said Allison Sharkey, executive director of the Lake Street Council. The mission of the Lake Street Council is to engage, serve and advocate for the Lake St. business community, ensuring the vitality and prosperity of whole corridor.” She added, “It’s already been proven that Open Streets makes people feel better about their community. We’re working hard to make sure that it also benefits businesses by bringing in new customers.”

Helen Miller, of Miller Upholstery at 3614 E. Lake St., plans to not only welcome visitors and prospective customers—but to seat them in style. She’ll be ”bringing the parlor to the people!” on Aug. 2, setting up her finest chairs and comfy sofas in the street for some serious lounging. Rebecca Schissel from Beckon, the home furnishings business next door, will be doing the styling with her hallmark good taste.

Photo left: Helen Miller of Miller Upholstery outside her shop, which specializes in custom upholstery services and fine fabrics.

The jazz band Zinos Music will serenade the parlor crowd from noon until 4pm. At noon. 2pm and 4pm, they’ll accompany a game of Musical Chairs and each time, the winner will take home a chair, Miller said, “of significance.” Miller will also be concocting handmade, organic, gourmet, paisley popsicles for sale. Coconut-Nutella, anyone? Raspberry-beet swirl? Come into the shop with a paisley popsicle stick after Open Streets and receive a 20% discount on any custom upholstery service.

The Hub Bike Cooperative at 3020 Minnehaha Ave. will be bringing their “Bike Rodeo” around the corner onto E. Lake St. for the day. Their store motto is, “All kinds of bikes for all kinds of people,” which fits right in with the welcoming concept of Open Streets.

Photo left: Chelsea Strate is in charge of marketing and personnel coordination for the Hub, the Twin Cities’ only cooperatively owned bike shop.

Acknowledging that, “most bike accidents happen at the end of the driveway,” worker-owner Chelsea Strate explained the rationale for putting on a bike rodeo. “We’ll have several stations for kids to learn safety and skills,” she said, “and they’ll be going on all day long.” Families should come with their kids outfitted for biking. There’ll be stations for checking helmet fit (“snug” is the operative word), bike fit, and learning new skills for street riding.

“This is a great chance for us to give back to the community,” Strate said. “Our store has been here since 2003, and we’ve been able to thrive because of neighborhood support.”

Photo right: In the weeks preceding East Lake Open Streets, Le Town Talk Diner has been a mecca for bike enthusiasts watching and celebrating the Tour de France. Co-owner Emilie Cellai stood in front of two hand-made bicycles that would be raffled off on the last day of the tour.

Le Town Talk Diner, under the new ownership of Emilie Cellai and Ben Johnson, will also be takin’ it to the streets in front of their restaurant at 2707 E. Lake St. Plans for Aug. 2 include an outdoor food stand selling authentic French crepes with ham and gruyere, and pear and chocolate fillings. Server Kari Maxwell will lead passers-by in the timeless tradition of open-air French painting, and a chalk drawing competition will take place right in the middle of Lake St.

“We haven’t even been open for a year,” Cellai said, “but we already feel right at home here. The urban, multi-culturalism of Longfellow is very much like where I grew up in Marseilles, France.” She continued, “People have responded well to our ‘working person’s concept’ of French food. It isn’t fancy, but it provides comfort – and the local brews and craft cocktails don’t hurt either.”