creative leadership : Buzz

OpenTable, which takes online reservations to various eateries all over the country, gives props to four Twin Cities restaurants in its recent list of the "Top 50 Restaurants Most Fit for Foodies," the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports.

The list came together following OpenTable's “foodie” survey, which garnered more than 10 million reviews, the article states.  

The standout restaurants in Minneapolis and St. Paul include Haute Dish, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, Piccolo and Saffron Restaurant & Lounge.  

The piece quotes Caroline Potter, OpenTable’s Chief Dining Officer, saying, "These restaurants have been singled out for being able to satisfy the folks for whom dining is practically sport--those avid, passionate eaters, often armed with cameras, who take careful notes and relish every bite.”

The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently released a list of 100 businesses that have created at least 100 jobs since receiving SBA assistance, and three Minnesota companies were highlighted.
 
Great Clips, Shield Services, and Tastefully Simple--all based in Minnesota--made the list, showing growth since their SBA aid.
 
Great Clips received a $9 million SBA loan in 1997 and used the money to grow from 800 salons to over 3,000 franchised locations, creating 15,000 jobs along the way.
 
Security firm Shield Services benefited from the agency's business development program and an SBA-assisted contract, and now employs 130 people.
 
Tastefully Simple, a food-mix and gift purveyor launched in 1995, used a $20,000 SBA loan to grow into a $100 million company with 340 employees. 

A local food writer gets a shout-out in a Boston.com piece as a possible successor to the outgoing restaurant critic at the New York Times.

The Times’ food critic, Sam Shifton, is shifting into a new role at the newspaper, it explains.

“Still in the outsider vein,” Devra First writes, "Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, who writes for the Minnesota Monthly," is “a wicked writer, a New York native, well respected.”

In a position that’s long been male-dominated, it may be time for a new perspective. “Grumdahl's sensibility appeals to the younger readers the Times is looking to attract,” says First.

In a recent USA Today story about ways to make the most of produce before it goes bad, Minneapolis is named along with Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, for having thriving food swaps.

Food swaps, which are listed here, help avoid wasting food, the author explains. “Imagine a place where regular people get together to unload what they have too much of (summer squash? raspberry jam?) and, in exchange, find something they need or hadn't thought of (asparagus beans? pickled okra?)." 

Other creative food-saving measures mentioned include donating items to a food pantry or preserving, cooking, or juicing fruits and vegetables. 

The novel “Crossbones,” from Somali author Nuruddin Farah, who lives part of the year in Minneapolis, is featured in a recent issue of the New York Times Sunday Book Review.

“Some in the media may paint Somali pirates as womanizers with lavish tastes and an eye for Nairobi real estate, but Nuruddin Farah exposes the shallowness of such depictions in his 11th novel,” the review states.

One of the book’s central characters is a New York-based war correspondent who is part Somali and part Malaysian. With the help of his father-in-law, he embarks on an international journey to track down his teenage nephew who has left Minnesota to join the militant Islamic group al-Shabab.

Warfare and poverty in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu are also part of the story, which reviewer Hirsh Sawhney describes as “politically courageous and often gripping.”

Sawhney writes that the Farah “takes great pains to illuminate the roots of Somalia’s turmoil in a nuanced manner.”

All in all, the book is a “sophisticated introduction to present-day Somalia, and to the circle of poverty and violence that continues to blight the country,” Sawhney concludes.

A recent Twin Cities Business story highlights several local companies that were featured in a national list of the 50 “best places to work” from Outside magazine.  

Minneapolis ad agency Colle+McVoy, which got 10th place, has “the soul of a start-up despite having been around for more than 75 years,” the magazine re-states from Outside.

The company offers such perks as annual and instant bonuses to employees, free fitness activities, and an awards program, the story states. The office’s rooftop deck is also “perfect for morning yoga, company-provided Friday breakfasts, and parties." 

Outside also praised the agency for its support of various charitable organizations and green initiatives.

The same goes for the Minneapolis-based advertising and public relations firm, Carmichael Lynch, which ranked 39th, while Quality Bicycle Products in Bloomington came in 49th.

Michael Roberts, who is Outside’s executive editor, is quoted saying: “These 50 companies are successful precisely because they support a proper work-life balance."

 

The Fox is Black, a national art and design blog, recently featured the Minneapolis-based Studio on Fire.

In the writeup, blogger Bobby Solomon says that the local studio is producing some of the strongest letterpress work that he's found in a long time.

He's such a fan that he'd like to get some business cards done in a style like that of Studio on Fire. "I've toyed with the idea of getting some letterpress business cards, a simple white card with a big black fox embossed into it; it would be great, and this makes me want to do it even more," he says.

He adds that the studio's portfolio "is filled with a wide variety of projects--[their] Godspeed bike print is pretty rad, especially the fact they used the pattern of the bike seat itself."

Johnny Michaels, who works as a bartender at La Belle Vie restaurant in Minneapolis, was recently featured in Esquire magazine.

"Mixology is sort of like cooking with liquor," says Michaels in the interview, joking,  "With my looks and personality, I should've been a cook."  

He describes his good fortune to have wound up at La Belle Vie, which he imagines is "like getting drafted by the New England Patriots."

Although he claims he's not a popular "silver-tongued" charmer, he admits that he's in a good position to see people's moods brighten.

"What's good to hear is when people tell you, 'That's the best drink I've ever had in my life.' That's my crack. That's my home run," he says in the piece.   

Cool Hunting, which showcases interesting new developments every week in the areas of design, tech, style, travel, culture, and more, recently featured an invention that comes out of Minneapolis.

Bike Fixtation, the bicycle-repair kiosk from the Minneapolis company of the same name, topped a recent list of picks on the Cool Hunting website.

"If you've ever ended up stranded in the city with a flat tire, you'll find the new Bike Fixtation kiosks helpful. The self-service stations are open extended hours for bicyclists in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan areas," the notice reads.
 
An international team of editors and contributors at Cool Hunting sort through all kinds of innovations to provide the weekly digest.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area landed on Forbes' list of Best Cities for Young Professionals, coming in at number 10 on a list of 15 top cities.

The Midwest was well represented on the list, with Des Moines grabbing the top spot, Madison coming in third and Omaha at number five.

To determine the best cities for young professionals--which Forbes defines as adults aged 24 to 34 who hold a bachelor's degree or higher--the magazine assessed cities on seven factors, including unemployment rates, projected growth, number of small businesses, median salaries, and cost of living.

A couple of local beer companies made it onto the recent list of "Best Beers in America," according to a story in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

The results come from the American Homebrewers Association, which polled the readers of its journal, Zymurgy. Readers came up with a list of their 20 favorite beers.

Minneapolis-based Summit Brewing Co., placed 48th for Summit EPA. In terms of best beer portfolios, it ranked 25th, with nine of its beers named by readers, according to the story.

Another local company, Surly Brewing Co., did well with its Furious ale, while it also ranked high in the category of best breweries.

At the top of the list was Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Russian River Brewing Co.'s Pliny the Elder, while the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Del., led for its brewery and portfolio.

The StarTribune newspaper last week released the findings of its second annual survey of Minnesota employees on which are the best places to work.

Pennsylvania research firm WorkplaceDynamics conducted the survey, in which 278 companies participated and 60,538 employees responded.

"Employees ranked pay and benefits below concerns about conditions at the company, execution and their company's strategic direction," writes John J. Oslund of the survey and selection process.

In the end, the top 100 companies were chosen from three categories: large, mid-size and small employers.

You can view the top ten in each category and find links to much more here. 

A June 7 Gather.com story marks the 53rd birthday of Prince, the iconic Minneapolis rocker.

"It's a safe bet he can look down from his royal throne and enjoy the fact that he's as popular today as he was two decades ago," the story states.   

Gather.com cites the artist's recent run of 21 sold-out shows in Los Angeles, "sending fans and critics into a frenzy with his stellar performances of songs from his ever-growing catalog," it states. 

Describing Prince as an icon and "ultimate showman," the post makes the case that he rivals younger performers, especially with his impressive guitar skills.

The work of Minneapolis-based Artspace is featured in a recent Nola.com story about the rise of artist live/work spaces in New Orleans and elsewhere. 

Artspace is a nonprofit organization that develops affordable space for artists and arts organizations all over the country.

The group plans to convert the Andrew J. Bell Junior High School Property in New Orleans into a $40 million home for artists--one of a number of similar developments taking place across the city, the story states.  

These kinds of developments are appealing to many artists because they're often affordable and offer gallery space, built-in community, and other professional opportunities, it explains.

Wendy Holmes, senior vice president of consulting for Artspace, is quoted in the article, saying that it makes sense because "Artists bring a lot to the table."

A strong artist community can improve a city's tax base and turn around struggling neighborhoods. "Artist communities re-energize neighborhoods. And even though we're all businesspeople it's not always about the bottom line. It's about community engagement," she says.

In a recent New York Times piece, op-ed contributor Rick Perlstein pays tribute to the late Hubert H. Humphrey on what would've been the well-known Minnesota politician's 100th birthday.

Perlstein is the author of a book titled, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.

During his political career that lasted from 1948 to 1978, Humphrey served as a Minneapolis mayor, U.S. congressman and the country's 38th vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson, the piece states.  

Perlstein, who underscores Humphrey's accomplishments, especially in civil rights, contemplates "how much better things might have been had today's America turned out less Reaganite and more Humphreyish." 

With economic circumstances and racial disparities as they are, Perlstein raises,  "shouldn't we perhaps spare a thought, on Hubert Humphrey's 100th birthday, for his road not taken?"  

Source: New York Times