Last week, was my FIRST work trip post March 2020! I cannot even begin to tell you how good it was to be back in the flesh, meeting with real people again! Don’t get me wrong, it was been a blessing to have the opportunity to stop traveling to fully take care of my boys. However, I make it a point to only travel really 2-3 nights a month. I pick one city a month typically, see as many developers/multifamily architects I can at that city during that time.

Last week, was all about starting slow and seeing one of my favorite cities to travel to: Minneapolis! I love this city so much because of the people honestly. They are so nice, every single time I’m out. I will visit a firm once every 3 years, so am always scheduling with new firms. This particular trip, I had the opportunity to do a lunch and learn with LSE Architects and ESG.

One thing I wanted to make sure that I paid closer attention to, was who I would be catering through. SO many small businesses have taken a major hit financially, that I wanted to make sure I order food only through smaller catering services in Minneapolis. I will continue to make this a point in every city I go.

I started my trip driving, because the only airlines I typically use is Southwest, and they have been making headlines recently for cancelling flights, or not being dependable. I love to take the early morning flight from Midway to Minneapolis, but unfortunately, this flight has been deleted from their schedule.

I drove in and stayed at the cutest hotel in East Town. Since I am a Hilton Honors member, I try first to stay with them. The hotel was Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District. When I pulled up to the hotel at 10pm, I was able to get street parking very easily, right in front of the hotel entrance. The street parking is not enforced between 10pm and 8am. I highly recommend getting the MPLS Parking app, used this app almost 4 times a day.

The first lunch catering decision came from a small, local place named Green + The Grain. I went to the location inside of the US Bank Plaza. What I love most about this fast mobile chain, is that the ingredients all come locally sourced and are organic. No franchise. Just small business owners, just like us. Take a look at these incredible salads, they were so fresh and were clearly made with care.

Day Two, I decided to try another catering place based on the recommendation of a local architect. This was Brothers Deli located in downtown Minneapolis. They had really nice catering box options that came with a homemade sandwich, pickle, chips and a cookie. All of the sandwiches were delicious, I will be catering through them again.

All of this ordering catering for firms had me thinking of my favorite restaurant I went to years ago in this city. Red Cow! They have multiple locations, I visited Red Cow North Loop. The burgers, are the most inventive ingredients that match together so nicely. The beef is outstanding, trust me on this one. Go there! Atmosphere is casual, decor is on trend, service was great. They offer plenty of draft beer options which pair great with the burger selection. I ordered the Mushroom & Swiss burger: CAB patty, merlot mushrooms, balsamic onion jam, garlic mayo. I subbed the standard fries for sweet potato fries. Everything was outstanding.

It was a great 2 days in Minneapolis, look forward to being back. Remember, shop and dine local! These businesses have been through the ringer the past few years, let’s support them now to keep them going!