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The Minnesota State Fair closes Labor Day with record crowds, Square Roots brings African-Creole Southern food to East Lake Street, Ren Fest hits Shakopee, and we run down Twin Cities vegan favorites from Herbivorous Butcher to J. Selby's.
It's the last hurrah of summer in the Twin Cities: the Great Minnesota Get-Together wraps up on Labor Day after record-setting crowds, a mission-driven African-Creole Southern restaurant opens on East Lake Street, and we check in on our favorite local vegan spots.
In this episode:
Sources:
Subscribe: mplsvegan.com
George: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I walked past the Stone Arch this morning and there was already a guy set up with a folding chair, a thermos, and a little transistor radio. Like he was staking out a spot for a parade that isn't happening.
Laura: Ope, that's peak Minneapolis.
George: It really is.
Laura: What was he listening to?
George: I couldn't tell. Something with horns. He gave me a little nod like we were in on the same secret.
Laura: See, that's the thing about this week. Everybody's got that energy. Fair's wrapping up, weather's still holding, we're all trying to squeeze one more good weekend out of it.
George: One more, yeah.
Laura: I love this stretch though. Like, genuinely.
George: Me too. There's something about early September in the Cities that just —
Laura: Don't get sappy on me yet, we're four minutes in.
George: I wasn't! I was gonna say practical things.
Laura: Sure you were.
George: Okay so, State Fair. Closes Labor Day, this coming Monday, September seventh.
Laura: Which is TODAY-ish for our listeners, depending on when you're catching us.
George: Right. And here's the little wrinkle — this year they're closing at eight p.m. on Labor Day. Not nine.
Laura: Wait, really?
George: An hour earlier than past years.
Laura: Huh. Okay. Why?
George: I don't actually know. I didn't dig into the reasoning.
Laura: That's interesting though, because everybody's got that muscle memory of "oh I'll swing by after work, grab a Pronto Pup, watch the sun go down."
George: Exactly. And this year that window's tighter.
Laura: So plan accordingly.
George: Plan accordingly. If you're doing the last-day thing, get out there earlier than you think.
Laura: George, did you go this year?
George: I did. Twice.
Laura: Only twice? Slacker.
George: Listen, I paced myself.
Laura: I went opening Thursday actually.
George: Oh that was the record day, right?
Laura: One of them. Opening Thursday was over 155,000 people, and then Friday jumped to like 204,000. Back-to-back single-day records, per the Strib tracker.
George: 204,000. In one day.
Laura: In one day. At one fair.
George: That's a small city.
Laura: That's Rochester walking through the gates in twelve hours.
George: I was gonna say it felt busier this year and I thought maybe I was just getting old.
Laura: No, you're right AND you're old.
George: Thanks, Laura.
Laura: You're welcome.
George: Okay, so fair closes Monday. What else is happening this weekend?
Laura: Ren Fest is open. Shakopee. This weekend's dates are September fifth through seventh.
George: That runs through late September, right?
Laura: Weekends through late September, yeah.
George: Have you ever gone?
Laura: I've been ONCE. In like, high school. A guy tried to sell me a turkey leg the size of my forearm and I have never recovered.
George: That's the whole point of Ren Fest.
Laura: I know it's the point! I'm just saying, I was not emotionally prepared.
George: Fair enough.
Laura: What about you, are you a Ren Fest guy?
George: I've gone a few times. I like the jousting.
Laura: Of course you like the jousting.
George: Why "of course"?
Laura: Because you're George. You like the wholesome slightly cheesy stuff. You probably clap for the horses.
George: I do clap for the horses.
Laura: I rest my case.
George: Okay let's talk food, because we've been circling it.
Laura: Yes. Please. I'm hungry just thinking about mini donuts.
George: So the big food story I saw this week — Square Roots is opening on East Lake.
Laura: African-Creole Southern, right?
George: African-Creole Southern, twenty-seven hundred East Lake Street. And what I love — they've got a built-in apprenticeship program.
Laura: That's the part that got me.
George: Right?
Laura: Because opening a restaurant is HARD in this town. Costs are brutal. So building in a way to train up cooks who might go start their own thing, that's — that's a whole different mission.
George: That's a whole different mission.
Laura: I want to see that place succeed so bad.
George: Me too.
Laura: East Lake's had some tough years. Something like that opening is a good sign.
George: It is.
Laura: Okay, but let's do our people. Vegan check-in.
George: Vegan check-in. Where are you hitting this week, Laura?
Laura: Honestly? I've been on a Herbivorous Butcher kick.
George: The Northeast spot.
Laura: The Northeast spot. Because their smoky "ham" thing? On a sandwich? With a little mustard? Come on.
George: You're making the case.
Laura: I'm making the case. What about you?
George: J. Selby's, over in St. Paul.
Laura: The old classic.
George: The Dirty Secret is still the Dirty Secret. And I'm not too proud to admit it.
Laura: "I'm not too proud to admit it," he says, PROUDLY.
George: Okay, fair.
Laura: You know what I keep meaning to get back to? Reverie.
George: Down south Minneapolis.
Laura: Down south Mpls. Just a good hang. Coffee, brunch, whole vibe.
George: I was at Trio Plant-Based a couple weeks back.
Laura: Uptown adjacent.
George: Yeah. Real solid. And Hello Pizza, Hard Times, The Herbalist — like, we are SPOILED in this town for plant-based options.
Laura: We really are. Which reminds me — shout out to our friends at mplsvegan.com, they've got the running list.
George: They do. If you're new here, or you're just tired of the same three spots, mplsvegan.com is where you should be.
Laura: Real people, real reviews, all local.
George: All local.
Laura: George, quick — patio question.
George: Hit me.
Laura: Best patio for people-watching in the Cities right now.
George: Oh, that's a fight.
Laura: I know.
George: I'm gonna say... something along the Greenway.
Laura: The Greenway isn't a patio, George.
George: I mean a spot NEAR the Greenway where you can sit and watch everybody roll by on bikes.
Laura: Okay, that's a cop-out, but I'll allow it.
George: What's yours?
Laura: Anywhere on West 7th in St. Paul when it's not too hot. That whole stretch turns into a little parade after five.
George: That's a good answer.
Laura: Thank you.
George: Speaking of St. Paul, farmers market talk.
Laura: Yes. Both markets are absolutely popping right now.
George: Mill City on Saturdays, eight to one, right outside the Mill City Museum.
Laura: 704 South Second Street. And it's open every Saturday this month — the fifth, twelfth, nineteenth, twenty-sixth.
George: And the St. Paul one is over by CHS Field.
Laura: Lowertown, Saturdays, seven a.m. to one. Runs through November.
George: Seven a.m. is BRUTAL, though.
Laura: For you.
George: For me, yeah.
Laura: I love an early market. You beat the crowd, you get the good tomatoes, you're home by ten with a bag full of stuff and a smug little feeling.
George: "A smug little feeling."
Laura: It's the best feeling of the week.
George: Okay I'm gonna admit — I have never done the seven a.m. market.
Laura: George.
George: I know.
Laura: George, we've been doing this show for how long?
George: Don't start.
Laura: You call yourself a Minneapolis guy —
George: St. Paul market, Laura, it's the St. Paul one.
Laura: Semantics!
George: Fine. This month. I'll do it this month.
Laura: On the record.
George: On the record.
Laura: Okay, cannabis corner.
George: Cannabis corner. There's some actual news this time.
Laura: There is. Which — that's a change, right? Feels like for a long time everything was "coming soon, coming soon."
George: For a long time it was rules and delays. Now it's actual buildout.
Laura: So what's the number?
George: Office of Cannabis Management has issued about 350 licenses. And another 1,255 or so are preliminarily approved.
Laura: 1,255 more in the pipeline.
George: In the pipeline.
Laura: That's a LOT of businesses.
George: That's a lot of businesses.
Laura: What's the shape of that? Like, is it mostly retail?
George: Honestly, I didn't see a great breakdown. I don't want to make it up.
Laura: Fair.
George: But the other piece of news, and this is the one that I think matters — most of the 2026 cannabis omnibus bill took effect August first.
Laura: Right.
George: And that merges the medical and adult-use supply chains.
Laura: Which is a big deal.
George: Big structural deal. And there's a new category called a "macrobusiness" license.
Laura: Macrobusiness.
George: Capped at eight, statewide, through 2030. That part kicks in January first, 2027.
Laura: Okay so eight. Total. In the whole state.
George: Eight, total.
Laura: That's tight.
George: That is very tight.
Laura: What does macrobusiness mean, practically?
George: It means you can be vertically integrated at scale. Grow, process, sell, the whole chain.
Laura: So those are gonna be the big players.
George: Those are gonna be the big players.
Laura: And everybody else has to specialize.
George: Right. And I think that's actually good for the smaller shops we like around here.
Laura: How so?
George: Because if the big licenses are capped at eight, there's still a ton of room for the neighborhood spots. Wildflower up in the North Loop, Simply Crafted in Northeast, Green Goods down in Bloomington, Edina Canna out west, Stigma with the THC beverages.
Laura: Yeah, those places all have their own thing.
George: They all have their own thing. And a macrobusiness cap keeps it from becoming, you know, three chains and a parking lot.
Laura: "Three chains and a parking lot."
George: You know what I mean.
Laura: I do know what I mean. I mean — I know what YOU mean.
Laura: But hold on, I want to push back a little.
George: Push away.
Laura: Because "capped at eight" sounds protective for the small guys. But eight vertically integrated giants can still swallow up a LOT of market share.
George: That's true.
Laura: So it's not automatically the little-shop-friendly thing you're framing it as.
George: Yeah, you're right. It's a check, it's not a shield.
Laura: It's a check, not a shield. I like that.
George: You should say more smart things, Laura.
Laura: I say ONLY smart things. You just don't always listen.
George: Fair.
Laura: Also — shout out to mncannabishub.com, because if you actually want to track which shops are opening and what's on the shelves, that's the spot.
George: mncannabishub.com. Same energy as mplsvegan — local, real, keeps up with the actual scene.
Laura: Both sponsors today are people who actually live here and actually care.
George: Which matters.
Laura: Which matters a lot.
George: Okay, weekend vibes.
Laura: Weekend vibes. Let's do it.
George: Live music. First Ave's got a stacked run coming.
Laura: Give me the highlights.
George: Sugar with J. Robbins, three nights, September tenth through twelfth.
Laura: Three nights! At First Ave.
George: Three nights. Altın Gün on the fifteenth. The Get Up Kids with The Format on the nineteenth.
Laura: The Get Up Kids?
George: The Get Up Kids.
Laura: Okay, that's a time machine right there.
George: PiL on the twenty-second.
Laura: Public Image Ltd.
George: Public Image Ltd. And then BERTHA: Grateful Drag on the twenty-sixth.
Laura: Grateful Drag.
George: Grateful Drag.
Laura: I love this town.
George: I love this town too.
Laura: What about the Palace?
George: Palace Theatre in St. Paul. Brandon Flowers on the fifteenth.
Laura: Ooh.
George: Liz Phair on the sixteenth.
Laura: OOH.
George: Yeah, I figured.
Laura: Liz Phair at the Palace, that's gonna be a scene.
George: Beth Hart on the twenty-sixth too. Palace is having a month.
Laura: Palace is having a MONTH.
George: And then over at the Guthrie —
Laura: Wait, before you leave music. The Palace is at 17 West 7th Place, right?
George: 17 West 7th Place.
Laura: Which is a block I love walking.
George: See, this is why I said West 7th earlier.
Laura: You did.
George: I stand by it.
Laura: Okay, Guthrie. Go.
George: Guthrie opens their season with Waiting for Godot.
Laura: Directed by?
George: Joseph Haj.
Laura: And I heard the casting is nuts.
George: David Strathairn as Vladimir.
Laura: Oh my god.
George: September twelfth through October eleventh, on the Wurtele Thrust Stage.
Laura: That's a ticket right there.
George: That's a real ticket.
Laura: I love the Guthrie in the fall too. The building on the river when it's getting dark early? Come on.
George: The endless bridge at twilight?
Laura: Get out of here.
George: It's a whole thing.
Laura: Sports quick.
George: Sports quick. Twins are on the road all Labor Day weekend.
Laura: They played Detroit at Target Field on the first and second, and then they're gone.
George: They're at the White Sox the fourth through the sixth, then back to Detroit.
Laura: So no Target Field this weekend.
George: No Target Field this weekend. But — Saints come back home to CHS Field.
Laura: When?
George: September eighth through thirteenth. Hosting the Syracuse Mets, closing out the regular season.
Laura: I LOVE a Saints game.
George: Saints games are the best.
Laura: Cheapest good time in the Twin Cities, hands down.
George: Hands down. And Lynx are home on Friday the eighteenth.
Laura: Against?
George: New York Liberty. Tip at seven-thirty.
Laura: Target Center's gonna be LOUD.
George: Very loud.
Laura: Skol Lynx.
George: Skol Lynx.
Laura: Okay one more thing before we wrap.
George: Go.
Laura: Twin Cities Business has a whole package this issue on capital for Minnesota startups.
George: The "how do we generate a billion in fresh capital" thing.
Laura: That one.
George: I skimmed it.
Laura: I read it and I have thoughts.
George: I bet you do.
Laura: My short version — the fact that they're even framing it as "let's find a billion" tells you the local scene's alive. Nobody writes that piece about a dying ecosystem.
George: That's a good read.
Laura: You DON'T write "how do we find a billion for Detroit startups in 1988."
George: No, you don't.
Laura: You write it when there's momentum and you're trying to accelerate.
George: I think that's right.
Laura: So — bullish. Cautiously.
George: Cautiously bullish, on Minnesota.
Laura: On Minnesota.
George: Okay, one concrete takeaway for people this week.
Laura: Give it to me.
George: If you're doing the fair on Monday — leave earlier than you think. Eight p.m. close. Not nine.
Laura: That's the one. Do not get to the gate at 8:15 thinking you've got time. You don't.
George: You don't.
Laura: And after the fair closes — the Cities is still open. Farmers markets Saturday, First Ave and the Palace all month, Guthrie starting the twelfth, Saints back home the eighth.
George: So many good things.
Laura: SO many good things.
George: Alright, we should let people go.
Laura: We should let people go. Big thanks as always to our sponsors — mplsvegan.com and mncannabishub.com. Both of those are real, both are local, both are worth your click.
George: Real, local, worth your click.
Laura: Get outside this weekend. The weather's not gonna hold forever.
George: It never does. That's the deal we make.
Laura: That's the deal we make. Ope, on that note.
George: On that note. Take care of each other out there.
Laura: We'll catch you next time.
George: Catch you next time.
Three times a week, the Twin Cities in 12 minutes. Real restaurants you should try, real local business news, real events worth your weekend. Sponsored by mplsveganhub.com and mncannabishub.com — for serious Minneapolis business owners, also brought to you by Quiet Coyote (quietcoyotemn.com).