Debra Keefer Ramage began writing freelance for Southside Pride in 2012, shortly after returning from a 13-year sojourn in England. She covers progressive politics, education, co-ops and neighborhoods. In 2017 she started doing Southside Pride’s restaurant review column, The Dish.
Debra Keefer Ramage
Hope on Chicago Avenue and George Floyd Square

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Whither George Floyd Square? In May, the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder wrote about George Floyd Square, the headline stating that it “remains a work in progress.” That is certainly true. The opening sentence of the piece is a bit more controversial: “In the three years since the murder…
Fall on Chicago Avenue at 48th Street

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I found myself visiting Kowalski’s, the one on Chicago Avenue they call the Parkview store, after a long absence. In those occasional rankings of local grocery stories, Kowalski’s comes out as a paradox. When considering prices, it is the most expensive chain of grocery stores in…
Fall on Selby Avenue in St. Paul
Food and restaurant news, plus a mini-review of Baba’s Hummus House

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Openings, closings and pivots There are two Minneapolis closings to announce: Psycho Suzi’s tiki lounge cocktail club in Northeast Minneapolis, and the vegan restaurant Seed Cafe, attached to Modo Yoga on West Lake Street. Also, The Good Earth, a trailblazer in healthy dining when it opened…
DSA convention 2023: an interview with Sam D., first-time delegate, TCDSA member since 2017
Summer on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Art, movies, games and Korean fried chicken Grand Avenue in St. Paul is known for trendy bars, popular restaurants and upscale retail, as well as dignified old apartment buildings mixed in with the single-family homes and duplexes that predominate. But there are other, less-apparent gems, some…
Summer on Bloomington Avenue
Summer on Lyndale Avenue South
Restaurant news, State Fair food, and two mini-reviews
Culture on the West Bank, political victory in East Phillips, and the small business scene on Cedar Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Stuffed full of culture – Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside (the West Bank) With numerous theaters, music venues and more, Cedar Avenue’s northern stretch from Washington Avenue to Franklin Avenue is a cultural corridor like no other. There’s Minneapolis’s oldest community theater, Theatre in the Round, at 245 Cedar…
Summer in Richfield on East 66th Street
Summer in Highland Park – update on Highland Bridge and more

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Highland Bridge development I made a couple of reconnaissance trips to Highland Bridge, the development in Highland Park headed by Ryan Companies. There are people living there and the parks are mostly finished, but overall it still has an “under construction” feeling of raw newness. Here’s…