Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal

Special Time of Year

Tomorrow, candy and costumes rule then we all rush to our alarm clocks to "fall back"--a busy weekend. Fall is a great time of year for some hospitality venues. This Halloween Forbes Traveler lists 10 Vampire Vacations; last year they presented a list of America's Haunted Hotels to check out for the holiday. When its time to change the clock, Historic Hotels of America celebrates with its Fall Back in Time promotion to help you decide what to do with that extra hour. Deals for each of the participating hotels center around pricing that matches the year the hotel first opened (For example 1913 =  rates of $191.30). How will you celebrate this weekend?

--Ellie M. Bayrd, Associate Editor

Live from the Vision Awards

Missing the first Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal Vision Awards tonight (Sept. 24, 2009, at Chambers Hotel)? Want to get the inside scoop? You are in the right place. We'll be tweeting (@MeetingsMHJ) from the event and posting those tweets and any others with the hashtag #mnvisionawards right here. In addition to announcing our winners, we'll talk about the event space, the hospitality professionals we meet and congratulate our nominees. Tomorrow we'll post some photos and share links to the fall issue of the magazine, where you can read more about our winners.

Mother Earth News, Great Places You've Never Heard Of: Lanesboro, Minn.

Congrats to Lanesboro for making Mother Earth News' 2009 list of Great Places You've (Maybe) Never Heard Of. The oldest magazine dedicated to the topic of sustainable living (with a circulation of some 475,000), through interviews and research, picked 11 communities to call out this year, including Rock Port, Mo., Walla Walla, Wash., and Oakland, Calif.

The magazine credits Lanesboro's natural and cultural offerings per capita stating, "Among the towns featured in the 2009 list, none has such a remarkable array of options for so small a population — just under 800 residents." The magazine cites the bike trails, the arts organizations (Commonweal Theater and Cornucopia Art Center), its local farming connections and the town's ability to preserve its loveliness amongst flocks of tourists.

(For more information, particularly on the town's availability and usefulness for meeting planners, see our Location Location piece on Lanesboro from a couple years back.)

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Chambers' New D'Amico Kitchen Sneak Peek

The good folks at D'Amico Kitchen (the new restaurant at the Chambers hotel) hosted myself, Editor Joel Schettler and Associate Editor Ellie Bayrd for lunch today. It was delightful.

The new restaurant had its soft opening on Monday but the Grand Opening will be Sept. 9. The space still looks conducive to the rest of the hotel--very clean and simple, very Chambers--but with new works of art and splashes of lavender and coral on a few of the walls. The low couches have been replaced by tables and (very comfy) creamy-white leather chairs. I peeked out onto the patio, where a few people were sitting in what used to be known as the Gorilla Bar and is now called Eden. It seems aptly named, as our server told us they're going to plant some vines and make it more garden-like, reminiscent of the patio at Campiello's old Uptown location. I'm not sure if the new name for the upstairs bar (formerly Red White and F*#%ing Blue) has been announced yet, but I asked our server and he said it will be called XO.

We started lunch with lamb meatballs and yogurt sauce. There were golden raisins, onions and mint involved as well. I'm no wine pairing expert but I thought they were delicious with the Malbec I ordered. Then Joel and I both had the garganelli carbonara with pancetta and fava beans. SUPER flavorful. Ellie had the grilled chicken sandwich, which was tasty but I liked my pasta better. I was intrigued by literally everything on the dessert menu (a common issue for me) but we settled on two tasty little numbers: warm almond frangipane-filled crepes with vanilla mascarpone and almond brittle (my favorite of the two) and warm chocolate cake with olive oil gelato and cherries. Although I've never been big on chocolate cake (freakish, I know) I have a deep, unwavering affection for ice cream in all its forms. I could not pass up the chance to try this olive oil gelato and it was rich and creamy and everything I thought it might be. Don't know if I could eat more than just that one scoop though.

Our server was professional, attentive and offered suggestions when we asked. The food was very tasty and very interesting, with options for the less adventurous eaters among us (ahem, Ellie) and for the types who will eat just about anything (me and Joel). All in all, it was everything you'd expect from D'Amico and I'm very excited to see what they'll cook up for our Sept. 24 Vision Awards we're holding in the ART room (pictured). I'll try not to spend all my time stuffing D'Amico appetizers in my purse, but if I am, hopefully now you'll understand.

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Image from Chambers' Web site

Events at the Weisman Art Museum

I stopped by the Weisman Art Museum's open house last night to check out their event space. The last time I  visited the

museum was the opening of  Changing Identity: Recent Works by Women Artists from Vietnam in January. Both events were lovely--the Dolly Fiterman Gallery just has a great vibe, with windows overlooking the river and natural light bouncing off the clean white walls and ceiling.

The William G. Shepherd room was lined with tables from the Weisman's nine caterers, so I hung out there a lot. I was happy to see Kafé 421 owner Georgia Sander standing behind a table overflowing with flaky phyllo dough morsels filled with all manner of Mediterranean goodness, from figs to feta to olives. Besides having a major thing for Greek food, I have happy memories of her cozy Dinkytown bistro. When I was a wee Gopher I often ate there for the food, the hospitality and student-friendly prices. (They're advertising a $25 date night on the Facebook page right now.) Anyway, I didn't know she catered, so that's exciting!

What else? Said hello to a few friends, including Christine Cunnington, the Weisman's events coordinator, Diane Pearson (MPI) and Lisa Marie Borchert (ISES), both familiar faces from our magazine, and planner Geri Wolf, who you'll hear from in the Fall 2009 issue of Meetings. In the upcoming issue you'll also get more details about events at the Weisman and four other Twin Cities museums, so stay tuned!

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Photos from Weisman Web site

Food and Dining News

Alrighty folks. I've been slacking over the Fourth of July holiday--and definitely hope you've all been doing the same. So here is my overdue monthly roundup of hospitality-related dining news.

IN THIS EDITION: D'Amico and Chambers: a match made in heaven? Plus, local chefs and restaurateurs get their bloggin’ on, while others hop on the composting train.

I’m sure by now you’ve all heard the hubbub about Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Chambers Kitchen leaving the  boutique art hotel to be replaced with a new D’Amico concept. It will be an Italian restaurant, but that’s all anyone seems to know at this point. The announcement came a few weeks after news that D’Amico Cucina would be closing near the end of June after a 22-year run in the Butler Square building. There are plenty of bloggers breaking this news faster than I can, with more details (Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Andrew Zimmern, for instance) but I would like to direct your attention to one thing. Two years ago when Cucina celebrated its 20th birthday, Rick Nelson at the Star Tribune ran this piece featuring comments from the many talented local chefs who got their start in the D’Amico restaurants. I bet there are more than you realize—including Josh Thoma and Tim McKee, who I profiled in our summer issue. The company has been so influential in the Twin Cities' restaurant scene, it will be exciting to see what D'Amico creates in partnering with Ralph Burnet at Chambers.

Twin Cities Hotels: Supply and Demand

This article in the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal caught my eye today because just about this time last summer, the cities were all a-buzz with the opening of the luxury hotel trifecta, W Minneapolis in the Foshay, the Hotel Ivy and the Hotel Minneapolis.

But PKF Hospitality Research, according to the article, predicts that drops in RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) will be more severe in the Twin Cities than throughout the national market. The forecast attributes the Twin Cities' tough situation to not only the nationwide drop in demand, but also the unfortunately timed rise in supply here in Minneapolis.

What do you think, hoteliers? Is the situation really more dire in the Twin Cities? And how do you keep business without devaluing your products and services too much?

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Announcing ... The Vision Awards

This year marks the introduction of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal's Vision Awards. We feel like this will be a good chance to recognize best practices in the local hospitality industry and celebrate the talented professionals behind some of the great visions in meetings and events this past year. We'll be honoring these planners, vendors and hospitality professionals on Thursday, September 24, 2009, at the Chambers Hotel in Minneapolis.

Before then, though, we need your help. Yep, we want you to tell us who is the most deserving. After all, you are the experts. Think. Who has inspired you this year? Got someone in mind? Nominate! What vendor's work really stood out to you? What event impressed you? You know what to do: Nominate! Did you produce an event you are especially proud of? Go ahead: Nominate yourself! Deadline: July 31, 2009.

Learn more about the seven awards and the nomination process ...

Entertaining Events

I just got back from a fun event hosted by Martin Bastian at the Dakota. Martin Bastian used the time to talk about the importance of entertainment at events and showcased local and national acts.

• Jazz Impact: An interesting local group that combines jazz and team building. Dr. Michael Gold (on bass) compared the improvisation required of jazz to the freedom needed for innovative thinking in business.
• Jearlyn Steele (pictured) & Patty Peterson: Talented and energetic (and very funny!) singing duo, who also emcee. Both are local gals from musical families. [photo courtesy The Steeles]
• Keb' Mo': Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist. While he may be known for his music, he's also quite funny and charming. Highlight of the evening was his impromptu duet with Jearlyn Steele.

So, my question to you is: what kind of entertainment do you think works best at events and who would you recommend?

--Ellie M. Bayrd, Associate Editor

Stage Spotlight, Part II: Meeting/Event Space

When staging your next event, consider one of our local stages. With more than 30 performance venues in Minneapolis alone, there are plenty of theaters to choose from in the Twin Cities. In the summer issue of the magazine you'll be able to read about how one local company hosted an event at the Pantages Theatre and if you look back on our blog (posts Part I and Part II) you can read about how two of our editors attended an event recently at the Children's Theatre Company.

So let's take a look at what our local theater scene can offer you in the way of meetings/event space. 

*Read Part I of Stage Spotlight (a preview of the next 2009-2010 theater season)