Monthly Archives: December 2011

Taste of Saigon is alive & well

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When we reported that the Saigon Cafe on West First Street in downtown Duluth had closed, the other Saigon restaurant in Canal Park started getting phone calls.

And they weren’t all for takeout.

Callers asked whether the Taste of Saigon restaurant was still open. It was an easy mistake to make for those who just glanced at the headline, “Duluth’s Saigon Cafe closes” or didn’t read the Nov. 8 story carefully.

“They didn’t distinguish between the two Saigons,” said manager Duy Nguyen. “Word got around that the Saigon had closed.”

But a month-and-a-half later, the calls continue. People walk by the restaurant in the DeWitt-Seitz Building and happily say, “I’m so glad you’re still here, ” or they say, “Oh, I thought you were closing.”

“We say , ‘No, no, no,’ ” Nguyen said, in response to the closing comments.

So be assured, the Taste of Saigon at 394 S. Lake Ave., is still open and doing just fine.

And the other Saigon restaurant at 114 W. First St.? A Giant Panda Chinese restaurant is supposed to open there.

 

Downtown sports more holiday lights

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If it seems like holiday lighting has gotten a boost in downtown Duluth again this year, you are right.

There is,  indeed, more lights gleaming on the Skywalk bridges, more of those bridges topped with a trio of lighted trees (my personal favorite) and more of downtown’s real trees strung with lights. There’s more swags and snowflakes, more lights near Fitger’s Brewery Complex. And this year, there’s lighted trees and deer along Fifth Avenue West.

There’s even more holiday lights along Harbor Drive.

“We did more lighting along there to provide a better transition between Bentleyville and Canal Park,” said Kristi Stokes, president of the Greater Downtown Council.

And you can thank the late Duluth philanthropist, Julia Marshall, for all that.

Last year, a $30,000 grant from her trust  and a $10,000 match from the Greater Downtown Council made downtown more festive to go along with the then-new 120-foot-tall lighted tree in Bentleyville.

This year, the trust came through again, but with an even bigger, $45,000 grant that also was matched with $10,000 from the Downtown Council.

Like last year, the money went towards installation and needed electrical wiring as well buying more lights and decorations that will be used for years.

“We keep trying to add more,” Stokes said.

By the way, Marshall was the daughter of Albert Marshall who founded the Marshall-Wells hardware business in Duluth. She was active in the community and supported many projects. But she always had a special love for downtown. She died in 1994 at age 98.

Those who knew her have said she would be happy to see her money go towards making downtown more festive for everyone to enjoy.

 

 

 

Country bar coming “soon” to downtown.

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For more than a month, the sign in the window at the former European Bakery in downtown Duluth says Spurs on 1st, Duluth’s newest country bar, is “coming soon.”

And for weeks, I have tried to find out more.

Nick Patronas, who owns Aces on First next door is apparently behind the venture. But he’s not talking. Or at least, he’s hasn’t returned my phone calls.

Building owner, Joe Kovich, also is keeping mum.

“I can’t comment,” he said. “ I have signed a confidentiality agreement (with the tenant).”

A country western bar at 109 W. First St. would be the only one downtown, and one of the few in Duluth. And because of that, it just might work.

But “soon”? I don’t think so.

The space is in rough shape. Much work will be needed to transform the first floor of the 1888 building into a decent tavern.

Workers have been gutting the entire first floor where the bar will be. And by the looks of things during a recent visit, it’s going to take some time. My eye caught on the tall ceilings, architectural features denoting another time, and wallpaper still on some walls that probably dates back 100 years.

According to a workman, Patronas is aiming to maintain a lot of that character, including tin ceilings that have been carefully removed for restoration and reuse and ornate radiators that the worker said Patronas likes and wants to keep.

If they can do all that, it’ll be worth the wait.