Modern Times Cafe is a community favorite.
BY STEPHANIE FOX
Chicago Avenue was once called Ames Street and it is unclear why the new name “Chicago” was chosen in the 1870s. Today, this street is lined with houses, churches and hospitals, including the acclaimed Children’s Hospital and Allina Health Care. Visitors to this diverse street can also visit art galleries, restaurants, schools, shops and, of course, the crossroads now called George Floyd Square. It’s a nice place to visit, and you might even want to live there.
Modern Times Café
3200 Chicago
This popular Powderhorn neighborhood restaurant has a colorful and chaotic history. It was built in 1909 and housed Modern Dry Cleaners until the 1930s. Since then, it’s had several incarnations. For a while, it was a meat market. Much later it served as a venue for punk shows, and then it was home to Loft Literary Center. The upper floor once housed our own Southside Pride newspaper offices.
First floor restaurants have served everything from Southern American to Somali to Mexican cuisine. The Modern Times Café was there in the late 1970s, while the current restaurant, also named Modern Times, opened in 2011. It offers breakfast and lunch with vegetarian and vegan options.
The building, itself, is easy to recognize with a lime green exterior and the words “Modern Times” in large Art Deco letters. In the summer, there is outdoor seating where dogs are welcome to join their owners next to the cartoon cat logo.
The Walk-In Counseling Center offers free mental health care to anyone.
Walk-In Counseling Center
2421 Chicago
Feeling down? Stressed? Family problems? Grieving? If you need counseling but are low income or unemployed, or if you have insurance coverage but don’t want to wait weeks for an appointment, you can come here, where there is someone always ready to listen.
The Center has been helping residents of the Twin Cities for 56 years. All of the volunteer counselors have a master’s degree or above, including psychologists, clinical social workers and others experienced in psychotherapy. Sessions last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.
No one is turned away and longer-term counseling is available for clients, if needed. No name or identification is required.
Manny’s Tortas
Midtown Global Market
When chef Manuel Gonzalez arrived from Mexico City to Minnesota he had already graduated from culinary school. When Mercado Central opened on Lake Street in 1999 as a part of the Latino Business Development Project, he and his sister Victoria moved in to serve Mexican food to the local community. The team now runs Manny’s Tortas in the center of Midtown Global Market.
In addition to the tasty tortas (Mexican sandwiches), Manny’s sells tacos and salads. It is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts
3749 Chicago Ave.
While Minneapolis draws artists and soon-to-be artists from all around the region, the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC) is unique. The studio offers education in blacksmithing, jewelry, enamel, stained glass, sculptural welding, neon and other arts using heat, spark and flame.
Some classes are open for those 16 or older but a few are geared toward kids as young as age 9 if they attend with parents. Most of the quarterly classes for adults are held in the evening, but there are summer programs for younger students as well. The next set of classes start in October. They fill up quickly so plan ahead. Some scholarships (Fuelerships!) are available. Scholarship supporters (Fuelers) receive special benefits. CAFAC also offers inexpensive studio space with tools and safety equipment and four-month Artist Residency programs.
Hope Academy
710 E 24th St. with an entrance on Chicago Ave.
This private Christian school was founded to give children a solid education focusing on future success.
In the 1990s, Russ Gregg had moved to the Phillips neighborhood when he decided that the local public schools weren’t offering the kind of education he wanted for his own children. They soon attended a private Christian school in the suburbs. When he realized his neighbors’ kids couldn’t afford the choices he was able to offer his own children, he partnered with Jeff Bird to start a new program.
Hope Academy began with 35 students, kindergarten though 2nd grade. By 2024, the school served 636 students from kindergarten through high school and it is still growing. The school does charge tuition, but they will work with parents who don’t have the financial resources to pay.
The iconic Pillsbury House + Theater
Pillsbury Creative Commons
3501 Chicago Ave.
For more than three decades, Pillsbury House + Theater has been a South Minneapolis landmark. Located at the corner of Chicago Ave. and 35th St., it’s a place for music and theater and also offers programs to train young people in all aspects of theater arts. This July, Pillsbury House celebrated an expansion and a new name. It’s now Pillsbury Creative Commons, a place for artists to claim their power to combine with and to serve the local community. Their new mission includes efforts to eliminate deep disparities in jobs and resources in media and the arts and to help young people prepare for high paying careers in the media industries dominated by white males.
Pillsbury Creative Commons has a scene shop, artist studios, a radio station (98.9 KRSM), and an accessible gathering area designed for organizing and for celebrations that support local business and the arts.
Cafecito House Pop-Up
3852 Elliot Avenue
A block east of Chicago Avenue is a garage housing a pop-up café called Cafecito House, where customers can come in for creative coffee drinks from a changing menu. “Cafecito” is a Spanish term. While it literally means “little coffee,” it also refers to a moment in time spent with friends and family while catching up and sharing stories.
On the first weekend they launched, owners Psawpaw Kasun and Natalya Arevalo were expecting to serve a couple of dozen people, but word had spread. Instead of a trickle, the line stretched down the block.
Their garage cafe has a place for Kasun and Arevalo to make their specialty drinks with a friendly space for customers to sit, relax, and even play chess. A permanent brick-and-mortar location, perhaps combining a coffee shop with a bookstore, is part of Cafecito House’s long-term plan. It’s open Sundays from 11:30 until 2:30. RSVP is required. Please go to www.cafecito-house.com to learn more.
Remember George Floyd billboard
George Floyd Square
38th and Chicago Ave.
The intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Ave. was once a thriving area for those living in the Powderhorn neighborhood, a place to shop or enjoy a restaurant meal. On May 25, 2020, everything changed with the police murder of George Floyd. Since then, various members of the community have been fighting over what to do with the intersection now generally called George Floyd Square.
After the murder, the area has seen big changes. Parking has become severely limited as the area has also become an international tourist destination. Businesses have come and gone, including the Speedway gas station, which is now city-owned and renamed the People’s Way. The city is seeking a community-approved purchaser/owner for the station.
There have been countless neighborhood meetings to decide the fate of the area, sometimes pitting various factions against each other. Local neighbors and businesses often push back against activists who consider the area to be a place of resistance. The city claims it wants to redesign the street to reflect community goals and needs.
In August, members of the City Council announced some of their ideas to the public. They include a pedestrian mall and a public plaza near where Floyd died. This would restrict through traffic on Chicago Avenue but offer a cul-de-sac giving delivery trucks turn-around access to businesses. The city would also coordinate snow plowing in the area. Traffic and parking would be rerouted to nearby residential streets.
The Square includes public art as well as offerings made to the memory of Floyd, located in blocked off areas. People are passionate about what should or shouldn’t happen there, and it’s possible that no final decisions will be made for many months or even longer.
