Shea and Forum on WCCO

View the WCCO news video by clicking HERE.

Mpls. Restaurant Unearths Authentic Art Deco

Reporting: Bill Hudson

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―An old Minnesota dining institution is getting new life as the cafeteria once known as the Forum reopens in downtown Minneapolis.

Beyond a menu that's gone gourmet, the Forum will "wow" customers with its stunningly restored art deco interior. Getting it ready was like working on a precious piece of art.

Behind a sterile glass exterior at 40 7th Street South hides a goldmine of architectural history. It's one of the country's last surviving examples of classic "art deco."

When CEO of Ringo Restaurants Jim Ringo first set eyes on the city center's former Goodfellow's space, he felt something special.

"When I stepped in I was literally, it took my breath away," said Ringo.

No sooner had crews begun tearing away fabric wall coverings and ugly facades when the treasure trove of glassy glitz was revealed -- the original 1930s interior of the Forum Cafeteria.

"Honestly it was a fantastic surprise. To me it was like Christmas Eve and opening up that present," said Ringo.

The Forum rose from the Great Depression and served Twin Cities diners through the early 70s. Customers sat amid colored glass walls, mirrored scenery and nickel-chrome chandeliers.

David Shea is creative director of the Forum's transformation.

"The glass is all cast glass. Cast and etched glass. It's really almost impossible to find people to replicate the elements of this," said Shea. "There are people coming out of the woodwork on the thing. They remember grandma taking them as kids to places like this."

It's a place he calls one of the finest examples of the Art Deco revival found anywhere. Diners will again marvel at the Minnesota motif -- waterfalls, pines, lakes and sailboats.

It's an uplifting message that's more than just a bit ironic. Opulence born out of the depression is being restored out of recession.

"Very, very deco flavored. The clouds, all of those things," said Shea.

The goal is to balance preservation with a modern dining appeal. It's evident by the classic style of the Forum's table settings and wait staff.

"The hardest part about it is finding somebody who shared the passion and shared love that we have for this kind of architecture," said Shea.

After its makeover, the Forum is anything but cafeteria. It's a blend of American chop house with regional comfort food. It's a mix of elegance and menu to please body and mind.

"This is an ultimate brand that will be part of Minneapolis' future for many years to come," said Shea.

To set itself apart, the Forum will draw from various parts of the country each month. For the first month a portion of its menu will feature the food and culture of New Orleans.

The Taste 50

Today, Rick Nelson, food writer at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, published the fifth annual “The Taste 50,” featuring the paper’s “tribute to 50 tastemakers, trends, products and places that emphasize why Minnesota can’t be beat when it comes to great things to eat.” Not surprisingly, among the 50 were several of our favorite clients and friends, listed below. To view the entire 50, click here.

# 6 The hot seat(s)
Some of summer's top tables can be found at the Loring Kitchen & Bar, which boasts an indoor-outdoor design that takes full advantage of its hip urban location and sweeping Loring Park views. Can other restaurants please follow its sterling example?

# 7 -- # 8 Jewish Penicillin
Modern medical science may still be coming up short on that whole cure-the-common-cold thing, but here's what doctors should prescribe: Chicken soup, steaming hot, swimming with tiny nodules of chicken-fat flavor and finished with soul-satisfying matzoh balls, from Meritage (fancy version, pictured on the cover) or Yum! Kitchen and Bakery (Mom's version).

# 35 Lyn-Lake's lure
Start with a hefty toasted Kaiser roll. Pile a small mountain of succulently rare, thinly shaved beef, lovingly marinated then slow-roasted over charcoal. Add onions and horseradish and the results are the standard-setting Pit Beef Sandwich at the Lyndale Tap House.

# 39 Pizza prince
Eighteen months ago, when Jordan Smith launched Black Sheep Pizza -- and instantly started turning out some of the best in town -- he started small. The dinner-only format has slowly evolved into lunch, local office delivery and, coming soon, outdoor seating. As for a second location, "We're close, but we haven't found another deal yet," he said. It's easy to see that the longtime D'Amico employee is loving being his own boss. "It's been a gas," he said. "It's the most fun I've ever had in a restaurant, period."

Shea projects abound in the June Mpls. St. Paul magazine

The cover of June's Mpls. St. Paul magazine announces that it is "The Summer Issue," where the editors have identified the very best of summer in the Twin Cities, from festivals to cocktails to ice cream and more. At Shea, we love these "Best of..." issues because it always reminds us how great our clients are! Typically, we find that our client concepts are highly recommended and this issue is no different. Congrats to all our featured friends:

Smalley's Caribbean Barbecue is recommended as a lunch stop in Square Lake, Tavern on France as a lunch stop for build-your-own salads and burgers, and Brasa Rotisserie as a great place to pick up a tub of slow roasted pork shoulder for your next picnic. (pp.52-54)

Solera is mentioned as a great place to catch a movie on the rooftop. ("Summer Classics" p.100)

Sea Change and Loring Kitchen & Bar are featured as "new spots with great food, drinks, and people watching." (p.105)

In a section on "Where to Eat and Drink After the Show," the editors list lots of Shea projects: Dakota Jazz Club, La Belle Vie, Sea Change and Barrio. (p.115)

In the Eat + Drink section, you can find a review of Ringo. "...The Shea-designed space is exotic, using wood carvings and sails to lend a sense of far-flung sophistication..." (p.157)

A "First Impression" of Forum mentions how "Jim and Stefanie Ringo have resurrected the notable downtown Minneapolis space..." (p.159)

And finally, in a review of Colette Bar & Bistro, Adam Platt states that "...a recent Shea remodel seemed a reason to return..." (p.159)

Go pick up a copy. On newsstands now.

Shea-designed Forum receives Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Award

New restaurant concept revives Historic Art Deco interior
















MINNEAPOLIS (May 21, 2010) – On Thursday, May 20, 2010, the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), American Institute of Architects Minneapolis (AIA), and Preserve Minneapolis hosted The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Awards, recognizing projects, individuals, and organizations that celebrate and enhance the heritage and historic character of Minneapolis. Forum restaurant, which opened in the former Goodfellow’s space in City Center in April, received an award in the “Historic Restoration or Rehabilitation Project” category for the resurrection and restoration of its historic Art Deco interior. Ringo Restaurants, Inc. worked with Shea, Inc. on the redesign and Rich Bros. Construction on the build-out of the space which has housed several concepts over the last 80 years. The Art Deco interior, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been vacant for the last five years, and its reemergence was recognized this week as a significant contribution to the city’s historic preservation.

The award presentation was open to the public and held at International Market Square. Nominations were submitted to the Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Department (CPED) and reviewed by a jury made up of three Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commissioners, three members of the Minneapolis American Institute of Architects, and three members from Preserve Minneapolis. This year, 29 projects were nominated in ten categories. Award winners were selected based on their outstanding contribution to heritage preservation in Minneapolis.

Forum, City Center, 40 South 7th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402; phone: (612) 354-2017; web: forumrestaurantmn.ringorestaurants.com

For more on Forum see our previous blog posts.

Shea and Forum featured in national design publication

Contract magazine, a well-respected national design publication, has featured Forum, one of Shea's latest design projects in their digital edition today:


Shea, Inc. Brings Historic Minneapolis City Center Venue Back to Life
12 May, 2010
By Stacy Straczynski
Photo Credit: KNG Sommers Photography

Shea, Inc. is giving Minneapolis diners a blast from the past. The marketing, architecture, and interior design firm recently completed work on Forum, the latest restaurant concept from Ringo Restaurants, Inc. that features an Art Deco style reminiscent of the venue’s roots.

Located in what had most recently been the Goodfellows Restaurant (closed 2005) at the historically registered City Center, Forum draws upon the nostalgic notes inherent in the space’s original 1914 design as the Saxe Moving Picture Theater and subsequent 1930 remodel into The Forum Cafeteria. The existing original interior—which featured zigzag woodwork details, etched mirrors, and glass chandeliers—was already intact, providing the perfect inspirational backdrop for more modern inclusions, such as soft seating, intimate gathering spaces, and neutral-colored carpeting.

“The preservation of the historic features was far better than we'd hoped and we didn’t need to do much to repair them. It's great to be able to uncover such a notable design from a different time period and get to enjoy it as people once did,” says David Shea, president of Shea, Inc. “We managed to bring back a piece of history that has been sitting dormant for more than five years.”

Herringbone patterned wood flooring was also added, and the bar, which had not been a part of the original design, was relocated to the center of the restaurant to generate a visual focal point and centralize activity.

While some of the missing historic pieces were matched and repaired during renovation, the designers chose to leave some of the space’s natural signs of aging—cracks, holes, and other imperfections—as a touch of character and authenticity.

According to Shea, the venue is gaining a lot of positive feedback from the Minnesota Historical Society, the business community, and the public. For example, shares Shea, one individual even sent a letter to the food writer after he published an article about The Forum in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

I'm writing to you about someone with relevant history associated with the Forum Cafeteria…She worked as a waitress at the Forum from 1948 until 1950, during it's hay day…When she read your article in the Tuesday's paper she was as giddy as a school girl with all the reminiscing of her experiences there and then. Her eyes lit up when talking about it and got goose bumps when she saw the photos that accompanied the article…

Forum opened to the public on April 23. Shea, Inc. recently entered the project in the MN Historic Preservation Awards, the winners of which will be announced on May 20.

Two Shea projects part of Downtown Journal's Biz Buzz.

Two Shea projects--Forum and Simple Sandwich--have made the "Biz Buzz" in today's edition of the Downtown Journal. See what journalist Gregory Scott has to say:

Biz buzz
Gregory J. Scott

Forum: Brothers in the kitchen, ‘rotating destinations’ on the menu

Jim Ringo’s City Center experiment gears up for its first month of business Forum has only been open in City Center for a couple of weeks, but already the restaurant that resurrects the art deco glam of the old Goodfellow’s space has built up a considerable amount of lore. There’s the story of its owner, the corporate executive turned first-time restaurateur Jim Ringo, who retired from a 20-year tenure at Cargill to open two huge restaurants in the same month (Ringo’s, an upscale restaurant with a “globally roving menu” opened in the Shops at West End on April 13; Forum opened April 23). There’s Ringo’s unusual decision to make Christian Ticarro both executive chef and general manager, a dual role unheard of in the restaurant business. And then there’s Ticarro’s even more unusual decision to hire his brother as the head chef. Detractors have cited all three of these facts as reasons why Forum will fail.

But the most interesting bit of lore is that Ringo initially had no plan to open two restaurants — and that Goodfellow’s gorgeous space forced him into it. While hunting for a building to house Ringo’s, he checked out the former Goodfellow’s location, at 40 S. 7th St., which had sat vacant for almost five years. And though he realized the space wasn’t right for his project, he couldn’t get the art deco dining hall out of his mind. He had to use it for something. So he built Forum’s cuisine and concept exclusively for the space, instead of the other way around — another unconventional move.

“Jim always says ‘if my heart is at Ringo’s, my soul is at Forum,’” said Ticarro during a recent Monday lunch. Ticarro described a “chef-driven menu” that “celebrates Americana,” conceived of by Ringo to honor the space’s history as both a white-tablecloth restaurant, during the Goodfellow years, and a legendary cafeteria, during the four-decade run of the original tenant, the old Forum Cafeteria.

A third of the menu, Ticarro said, will be classic comfort food: “chicken pot pie, Salisbury steak, country fried steak.” Another third will be classic chophouse fare: “seafood, steak, pasta.” The final — and in Ticarro’s opinion, most exciting — third is a “rotating destination” menu that visits the cuisine of a different American region each month.

May’s menu focuses on New Orleans; June’s will turn toward Santa Fe; and then Boston in July (“for Independence Day”) and Alaska in August. The late summer menu might prove especially impressive, as Ticarro’s head chef spent 14 years cooking in Alaska before stepping into Forum’s kitchen.“[The changing menu] really keeps the kitchen creative,” said Ticarro, who has had to research dishes like Cincinatti’s iconic chili mac and a South Carolina specialty called Country Captain, which involves combining raisins and almonds with chicken curry. “It also gives guests something to look forward to.”

The destination dishes proved especially popular during a VIP preview dinner, he said, on April 22, that accommodated some 300 guests.As for his combined duties, Ticarro, who has worked in the restaurant industry for 25 years, shrugs it off. “It’s stressful, but it’s just the normal kind of stress.” He finds the role “liberating.” A lot of times, “the chef’s got a great idea, but maybe the GM doesn’t really want to do it. It’s just a lot easier to hold one person accountable.”

Forum opens for lunch Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. The dinner menu begins at 4 p.m., with no disruption in between, and food service continues until 10 p.m. Forum offers a happy hour menu every day of the week, from 4–6 p.m. A weekend breakfast and lunch menu is served from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Simple Sandwich: Sandwich shop to introduce efficient, self-serve kiosks

A mom-and-pop sandwich shop will use a new technology to help Downtown workers maximize their lunch breaks. Simple Sandwich, slated to open in the Fifth Street Towers skyway in June, has announced plans to use self-serve kiosks in the shop, allowing customers to skip the cash register and go directly to the pick-up line. Owner Melinda Thiesen, who has developed the business with her sister and brother-in-law, says the process is similar to self-service check-in at the airport. “You go in, you build your sandwich on-screen, you swipe your credit card, and then you just grab your sandwich and go.” Simple Sandwich will also take orders on-line, Thiesen said, to further reduce wait time.“We’re really trying to get people in and out so that they can enjoy more of their lunch hour,” she said. Thiesen believes Simple Sandwich will be the first lunch spot Downtown to use such technology. The sandwich shop will also have a traditional cash register, staffed by an employee, Thiesen said, for customers who wish to pay in cash or who would prefer to interact with a live person.

Hot Mama opens three new stores in three weeks

Just as they did last fall, Hot Mama has opened three new stores in a three week span. This rapidly growing retail company worked with Shea, which has been providing design services for the upscale boutique since its inception in 2004. The latest installments of this locally-based concept include stores in Madison, WI; St. Louis Park, MN; and Eden Prairie, MN, bringing the total number of Hot Mama stores to sixteen.

Hot Mama is an extremely popular and rapidly growing upscale boutique targeted toward fashion-forward moms. The concept was developed in 2004 by Megan and Mike Tamte, placing the spotlight on moms and moms-to-be. Focused around the theme of motherhood, Hot Mama offers contemporary designer clothing in a warm and welcoming family-friendly shopping environment.

Shea joined forces with Hot Mama as the company entered the marketplace and assisted with company positioning and concept development. Shea then helped to infuse the brand personality into the design of the company’s first location in Edina, Minnesota, which was voted as the #1 Women's Clothing Store in Edina magazine’s “Best of 2008” issue, featuring Megan Tamte, CEO of Hot Mama, on the cover. This past fall, the flagship store moved 100 yards east to 3914 W. 50th Street.

Since the 2004 launch of the Edina store, Shea has worked with Hot Mama on each of their new store designs. There are currently seven Twin Cities locations, including the new Eden Prairie store, which opened April 14 in Windsor Plaza, and the new St. Louis Park store, which opened April 28 in the Shoppes at West End. The company also has stores in Illinois, Michigan, North Dakota and Colorado, and opened a new location at the Hilldale Shopping Center in Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, April 21.

Hot Mama, Windsor Plaza, 11995 Singletree Lane, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Hot Mama, The Shops at West End,1632 West End Blvd,St. Louis Park, MN 55416
Hot Mama, Hilldale Shopping Center, 666 Midvale Blvd, Madison, WI 53705
http://www.shopmama.com/

Check out this story from KARE 11: http://www.kare11.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=70156285001

Shea design project part of West Broadway resurgence

Shea is currently working on Gullah Grub Cafe, which is slated to open at 1200 W. Broadway in August. It is part of a continued revitalization of the troubled West Broadway business district, and is being spearheaded by Catalyst Community Partners, a nonprofit group devoted to putting dilapidated historic buildings back into productive use. You can learn more about the Gullah Grub project by reading our previous blog post (click here.)

Today, the Star Tribune published a story on the Minneapolis Schools that recently received board approval to build their new headquarters on two blocks of West Broadway which will lend significant mass to the area, continue to help spur development and bring lots of hope to the people who live and work there.


Minneapolis schools headquarters will spur W. Broadway revival

A combination of rising home values and commercial development is giving new hope to a frayed commercial corridor on the North Side of Minneapolis.

By NEAL ST. ANTHONY, Star Tribune

Last update: May 3, 2010 - 6:00 AM

Tuesday's decision by the Minneapolis school board to build a new headquarters on W. Broadway comes at an especially good time for the frayed commercial artery on the city's North Side.The school board's $27 million headquarters will bring 500-plus jobs to W. Broadway, which runs from the Mississippi River to Robbinsdale and will drive a two block-deep development between Girard and Fremont Avenues.Most important, it will lend significant mass to the piecemeal redevelopment of W. Broadway that's occurred over the past several years, led by developer Catalyst Community Partners along with other building owners who have refurbished dilapidated and once-abandoned commercial buildings.That halting progress was slowed and overshadowed by the devastating subprime mortgage scandal and subsequent housing bust that hit the North Side earlier and harder than any Twin Cities community.

But now the North Side economy is regaining traction.The median sale price of a house, excluding the far-north Camden neighborhood, fell from $159,900 in 2005 to $38,500 in 2009, a 74 percent drop, according to the Minneapolis Association of Realtors. Yet prices started rising late in 2009 and the North Side median sales prices during the first quarter of 2010 rose 70 percent to $67,950."I sold several properties in March and April that ranged in price from $150,000 to $245,000," said Sarah Huss, an Edina Realty agent who sells Minneapolis and suburbs. "The number of distressed sales, foreclosures and bank sales are decreasing and the traditional market is increasing. So, you're seeing an earlier and faster recovery in what was the epicenter of the foreclosure tsunami."Crime rates downThanks to coalitions of residents, businesses and police, crime was down by 15 to 20 percent last year, the third year of decline, according to police statistics.

Ed Anderson, manager of the six-year-old Cub Foods on W. Broadway and Lyndale Avenue N., said the aggressive panhandlers, vagrants and thieves who used to hassle his customers largely are gone, in jail, treatment, or trained and employed."We knew this would be a long haul when we opened in 2004," said Anderson, who employs 160 people in the sparkling-clean store. "But crime and the depth of the housing foreclosures that nobody anticipated really hurt our business. The first [four months] of this year were our best ever. We're optimistic."W. Broadway has lagged the commercial renaissance on E. Lake Street and E. Franklin on the South Side of Minneapolis where over the past 15 years abandoned store fronts and gin joints gave way to renovated storefronts, immigrant-owned businesses and restaurants.With fewer corporate partners, the North Side has lacked the marquee projects that have helped anchor redevelopment project on Minneapolis' South Side, such as the conversion of E. Lake Street's abandoned Sears Roebuck store into a new headquarters for Allina Hospitals.

"Still, there is confidence coming back to north Minneapolis," said Council Member Don Samuels, an independent businessman. "Economics is about confidence. We've closed the open-air drug markets and they haven't popped back up. We're concentrating now on W. Broadway and the neighborhoods."Henry Ford, a young neighborhood housing contractor, and veteran developer Stu Ackerberg of Catalyst Community Partners, embody the North Side's opportunity and challenge.Ford, a North High graduate and neighborhood resident, started as a handyman in 1991 and has become a general contractor thanks to a growing relationship with Greater Metropolitan Housing Corp. (GMHC). Business-backed GMHC has been the single-biggest buyer of more than 200 foreclosed North Side houses since 2007. GMHC typically acquires a salvageable house for $40,000, invests $80,000 to $100,000, and sells the like-new houses for around $130,000, said Bill Buelow, GMHC's construction director.Ford has overhauled several GMHC-owned houses over the past year, working budgets and hiring subcontractors.

"These vacancies lead to crimes and a lot of public costs," Ford said. "I like being part of rebuilding the neighborhoods and seeing families move in."Ford is an adept financial manager, has hired a bookkeeper and keeps his overhead down by working out of an office in his home. That's helped him win Buelow's trust. Despite that, Ford still can't get a bank loan for working capital.So, the nonprofit Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers helps by providing up to $25,000 in working capital to Ford so he can get going on a project with materials and subcontractors, before GMHC starts paying him as the work is completed."Many lenders have slammed their loan windows shut for small construction companies," said Iric Nathanson, finance director of the consortium.Leveraging foreclosure fundsSince 2007, the city has pooled about $35 million in city, federal, state and philanthropic investments to leverage close to $100 million in private dollars that has gone into foreclosure prevention, and the purchase, renovation and sale of more than 800 foreclosed North Side properties. The city is starting to cut into what has been a three-year inventory of about 500 foreclosed houses on the North Side.

The housing restoration work has kept a lot of construction workers going and helped local businesses rebound."We lost money in 2008 and 2009," said Darryl Weivoda, owner of nine-employee North End Hardware at Lowry and Penn Avenues. "I'm optimistic that we're going to have our best year in the nine years that I've owned North End. The housing stock was getting so cheap that people weren't investing. Now, we've got new owners buying and investing and other residents are fixing up their houses again and making repairs. We're busy."Meanwhile, developer Ackerberg of Catalyst Community Partners is set to unveil this month the $3.5 million renovation of the 15-year abandoned commercial building that once housed now-closed Delisi's, an Italian restaurant. The closure contributed to the long-time blight at the intersection of Penn Avenue and W. Broadway. The refurbished "5 Points" building, the new home of KMOJ-FM radio, also will house a restaurant and offices. Catalyst and other investors and donors are contributing more than $400,000 in equity to the project. Franklin Bank is the principal lender.Ackerberg, who has North Side family roots, has redeveloped several commercial and housing projects, a church and a day-care center on and around W. Broadway since 2004. The Ackerberg projects, which also support community-based minority contractors and minority workers and trainees, have generated new businesses and hundreds of new jobs and patrons.The 5 Points development, named for the confluence of five intersecting streets, already has inspired the facelift of several businesses across the street. Sue Wollan Fan, a former Best Buy and Accenture executive who runs Catalyst on a day-to-day basis, acknowledged the rising residential values have created the opportunity for a revitalized W. Broadway."The commercial corridor ... creates the greatest impression," Fan said. "This creates confidence and stimulates other investment."

Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144 •