Explore Chicago South of 44th Street

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE

Chicago Avenue – home to some wonderful community service organizations

We will be looking at two of these organizations.
First is Tubman – Chrysalis Center at 4432 Chicago Ave. The overall organization, now just called Tubman, is nearly 50 years old. They provide a huge array of services in addition to the original mission of being a ground-breaking domestic violence shelter. The Chrysalis Center, however, is not a shelter facility, but rather the administrative home of the “wraparound services” offered to clients, which include such things as counseling, learning how to create a safety plan, peer support groups, counseling and education for friends and family, counseling for abusers, and legal assistance.

Tubman’s annual fundraiser is called the Starlight Soiree and occurs in the spring. If you are interested in participating in 2026, either as a donor or a volunteer, the event will be on Friday, April 24 at the Marriott City Center in Downtown Minneapolis.
Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance is another organization on Chicago Avenue, at 46th and Chicago. Sometimes shortened to MOCA, it was founded in 1999 by a small group of ovarian cancer survivors. MOCA serves ovarian cancer patients and survivors statewide, and their mission is fourfold: research, support, education, and awareness. Speaking of awareness, September is national Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. Check mnovarian.org to find events near you.

Arts and entertainment on Chicago Avenue

Parkway Theater is more than a film theater; they also host an amazing lineup of comedy, live music, and other events in its beautifully renovated Art Deco movie palace. Here is a selection I made for you of upcoming events. See the Events page at theparkwaytheater.com for more and complete details including ticket prices.
• Sept. 12, 8 p.m. / 5th Annual Do Re #Me-too / Sexist songs destroyed by righteous feminist singers, raising funds for abortion access
• Sept. 13, 6:30 and 9 p.m. (2 screenings) / Dan Savage’s 2025 Hump Film Festival /

Features 22 brand-new shorts. Part of Savage’s 20-year mission of creating a public space for sex-positivity and representation.
• Oct. 4, 7 p.m. / Kristin Key / Queer musical comedian
• Oct. 12, 7 p.m. / Alex Borstein / Thirsty/ Comedy show from Borstein, who played Susie in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. / The Phantom Carriage (1921) silent with live score / An iconic Great Film, based on a novel by Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win the Nobel for Literature with a local music collective performing the score. Co-presented by ASI and Sound Unseen
• Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m. / Nico Carney / Rising comedy star with material based on his life growing up as a trans man in Savannah, GA

Eateries, bars, and coffee shops on Chicago Avenue

Sovereign Grounds is a neighborhood gem. Owned by Hakan Sezer, who immigrated to Minnesota from Turkey, it’s famous largely for its huge

playroom with plenty of educational toys, making it officially “the most family-friendly coffee shop.” There’s also a plentiful food menu, many items made in house. And there’s more: the fair trade coffee beans they use are also roasted in house. Because it has been continuously in business since 1995, it often gets left off of small roaster lists, but Sovereign Grounds was doing it before it was trendy.
Two new eateries, very different from each other, have come to Chicago Avenue in the past year. Stonegarden arrived as the ground floor business of a new apartment building called The Pearl, at 5401 Chicago Ave. Stonegarden blends global influences with French techniques to craft a chef-driven destination for breakfast and brunch. Their menu features nourishing bone broths, the Scotch Egg, Maryland Crab Cake, and indulgent options like Poutine with smoked tomato gravy and sunny egg. Favorites include the French Onion Omelette, Norwegian Benedict with house-cured gravlax, Challah French Toast, and delectable tartines. Stonegarden was named a 2024 OpenTable Diners’ Choice award winner in the Minneapolis Area.

The other newbie is Hippo Pockets in the spot at 735 East 48th St. vacated by Herbie Butcher’s. You may be familiar with Hippo Pockets from their other site in the original Centro’s on Eat Street. The best words I can come up with for Hippo Pockets are cute, quirky, and adventurously tasty. It looks like the urban youth in particular are flocking in for the tortilla-wrapped sandwiches.
Heather’s is another sometimes overlooked eatery with great consistency and stability as well as a fanatically loyal following in the neighborhood. Heather’s, named for its owner, Heather Asbury, a longtime manager at Lucia’s of fond memory, opened in the space at 5201 Chicago Ave. in early 2020, and soon was greatly expanded by the coziest, nicest patio in the city( in my humble opinion). They are open for breakfast through dinner, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
I like to eat a late brunch there on the patio, and I recommend the seasonal sweet potato hash, which includes heirloom tomatoes in summer, and Brussels sprouts in the fall. Also their Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl, made with GF soba noodles instead of rice, is excellent. The pastry menu would be extensive for a standalone bakery. The wine and beer list is great. There is also a deli/retail section at the front, which again is near the size of a standalone deli. I really cannot say enough good things about Heather’s; just go and try it for yourself if you’re not already a regular.

Retail and personal services on Chicago Avenue

14 Hill is a high quality gift store specializing in MN-themed items, kitchen items, and cute arty jewelry and accessories. It’s a great place to take out-of-town visitors, especially if you have a major birthday or anniversary coming up. I find it very hard to go browse there and not buy something, and I can usually do that at lesser stores.
Bauhaus Framing Studio is at 4804 Chicago Ave. Owner Heather Crawford has been praised for her outstanding framing designs and layouts for 30 plus years. Heather has a great eye for detail and sense of what the customer really wants. Check out their fantastic reviews on Google and Yelp. bauhausframingstudio.com
There are no less than three tattoo studios on Chicago Avenue between 48th Street and the Crosstown. The most prominent, being right on the

busy Chicago-48th strip, is Lost City Tattoo. Tattoo artist Lefty Lipuma founded a tattoo parlor in his hometown, NYC, in the early 2000s, calling it Lost City because of the chaos and difficulties following 9/11. Moving to Minneapolis in 2019, he saw Minneapolis too get “lost” in the pandemic and George Floyd uprisings. When he decided to open a second tattoo parlor here in 2022, he of course kept the name. Lefty has been joined by tattoo artists Marissa Wunders and Tyler Brooks, and cosmetic tattoo artist Rachel S., offering microblading and permanent makeup. The studio is open Wednesday through Sunday, and does not offer piercings.
Aurora Tattoo Co, MPLS is located at 5251Chicago Ave. and employs seven tattoo artists with rotating guest artists as well. They are open seven days a week and offer all kinds of tattoos including microblading.

Mutiny Tattoo and Piercing is the only shop offering piercing. Located at 5609 Chicago Ave., they have four tattoo artists, and accept walk-ins, but only accept cash payments for tattoos. They do not do piercings on minors (which unlike tattoos, is legal with parental permission) or genital piercings, however they do accept cash or cards for this service. Mutiny is open seven days a week.
Classic Tae Kwon Do Studios, 5253 Chicago Ave., is another local treasure. It’s a very family-friendly TKD dojang (the Korean word for a martial arts studio) with after-school programs for designated neighborhood schools, all-day summer camps, family memberships and family classes. Not surprisingly, it is family-owned and run. Carolyn Boston, who was a student of Korean Grand Master Moon Kyu Kim, founded the dojang in 1980. She still teaches as Head Instructor and her two older children, Mikaela and Jarydd, are also listed as instructors. The after school programs and summer camps offer snacks, and the summer camp also includes a daily field trip. If you’re interested, check out classictdkstudios.com for all the details