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George and Laura break down the back-half-of-October weekend: Sylvan Esso at First Ave, PopUp Bagels landing in the North Loop, Martiya's Nicollet soft open, Mill City & Lowertown farmers markets, Timberwolves vs. Raptors, and Minnesota's 402 cannabis licenses.
Flannels are back out, the river looks like pewter, and we've got one of the last outdoor Saturdays on the calendar. George and Laura run the Twin Cities weekend of Oct 23–25, 2026 — markets, music, food, sports and cannabis.
In this episode:
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George: —and I'm telling you, I pulled a flannel back out of the closet this morning. Full flannel.
Laura: George, it's late October. You're not pulling it out, it's been out.
George: Okay, fair. Fair. But there's a difference between the lightweight October flannel and the one I grabbed today, which is like... blanket with buttons.
Laura: Blanket with buttons.
George: Blanket with buttons.
Laura: That's a bit. You should put that on a shirt.
George: I might. How's your week been?
Laura: Good, honestly. Crisp. I did a walk on the Stone Arch Bridge Tuesday and it was that... that specific light where the river looks like pewter. You know what I mean?
George: Oh, I love that. Yeah.
Laura: Just gorgeous. Cold on the ears though.
George: Ope, that's the season.
Laura: Ope, there it is.
George: I didn't even plan it.
Laura: You never do. It just leaks out of you.
George: Alright, so. We're on the back half of October, we got a real weekend ahead, lot to get into. You wanna start with markets or music?
Laura: Markets. Because we're running out of outdoor Saturdays and people need to hear that.
George: Yeah, that's a good point.
Laura: Mill City is still going tomorrow, 9 to 1, down at 2nd Street. They shift to the indoor winter rhythm after this stretch, so if you want that last outdoor-under-the-bridge feel, this is kinda it.
George: That's the one by the Guthrie, right? Right along there.
Laura: Mm-hmm.
George: I love that market. I always say I'm going for one thing and I come home with... I don't know, a jar of jam and a loaf of something.
Laura: A loaf of something.
George: A loaf of something!
Laura: Midtown Farmers Market is also open Saturday, 9 to 2, right by the Hiawatha light rail stop at Lake Street. That one I love because it's just... neighborhood. It feels like the neighborhood.
George: Yeah, Midtown is the real one. And then across the river—
Laura: St. Paul Lowertown, yeah. 7 a.m. to 1. And they're going all the way through November 22 this year, so our St. Paul folks get a little more runway.
George: 7 a.m., though.
Laura: 7 a.m.
George: Who is at a farmers market at 7 a.m.?
Laura: People who've already had two cups of coffee and want the good tomatoes.
George: You betcha they do.
Laura: And honestly, late October tomatoes? Those are the sweet ones. Last of the vines.
George: That's the stuff. Okay — food. Can we talk food?
Laura: Please.
George: Because the sponsor segue is right there. Our friends at mplsvegan.com — go check their guide, they stay on top of the plant-based scene better than anybody. But I wanna know, what are you eating this week?
Laura: Honestly? I did J. Selby's twice.
George: Twice?
Laura: Twice, George. Don't judge me.
George: I'm not judging! I'm impressed. That's a St. Paul run both times?
Laura: Both times. And listen, when it gets cold like this, that menu just hits different. Comfort food that doesn't sit on you like a brick.
George: See, I'm a Herbivorous Butcher guy when the weather turns. Something about Northeast, walking in there, the smell of all that... I don't even know what to call it—
Laura: Deli?
George: Deli! Thank you. I literally forgot the word deli.
Laura: You forgot the word deli.
George: It's been a week!
Laura: Have you been to Reverie lately?
George: Not in a minute. Should I?
Laura: You should. South side, cozy, exactly the kind of place where you can sit for two hours with a book and nobody's gonna rush you.
George: That's my love language in October.
Laura: I know it is.
George: Hard Times is still Hard Times. Trio Plant-Based if I'm getting fancy. Hello Pizza if the kids are winning the night. The Herbalist if I want to feel like a grown-up.
Laura: A list.
George: It's a list.
Laura: Speaking of new food — did you hear about Martiya?
George: Tell me.
Laura: Somali-diaspora halal spot. Nicollet Ave in Minneapolis. They've been in a soft open all month and the grand opening is November 1.
George: Oh that's exciting. I love when a soft open just... bleeds into a grand opening and the neighborhood's already in on it.
Laura: Right? By the time the ribbon gets cut, the regulars are already regulars.
George: That's the dream. And then over in the North Loop—
Laura: PopUp Bagels!
George: PopUp Bagels! First Minnesota location, opening this month, in the Saxon building on 3rd Ave North.
Laura: And here's the thing, apparently they're not for slicing. They're for ripping and dipping.
George: Ripping and dipping.
Laura: Ripping and dipping.
George: Laura, I'm gonna be honest with you.
Laura: Uh oh.
George: I don't know what that means.
Laura: You rip the bagel. You dip the bagel. In like a schmear or a spread.
George: So... no knife?
Laura: No knife.
George: My Minneapolis dad brain cannot process this.
Laura: Your Minneapolis dad brain!
George: I slice bagels! I've been slicing bagels my whole life!
Laura: George, you can still slice. Nobody's taking the knife away.
George: It just feels like a bagel coup.
Laura: A bagel coup.
George: Alright, I'm willing. I'm willing to try the ripping.
Laura: Growth. Right there, on air. Beautiful.
George: Okay. Cannabis corner.
Laura: Cannabis corner. And this one — mncannabishub.com, our other sponsor — they're the ones to follow if you actually want to track what's open, what's coming, who's got what. Shout out to them.
George: Big shout out. So the state's Office of Cannabis Management — they put the latest numbers out. We're at 402 cannabis business licenses issued statewide across the main license types.
Laura: 402.
George: 402. And 23 of those are retailer licenses.
Laura: That's real. That's a real buildout.
George: It is. I remember when this whole thing was still... theoretical, you know? Like, "oh, maybe someday there'll be a shop on Hennepin."
Laura: And now there's gonna be one. Twin Leaf Cannabis, 2640 Hennepin Ave, on track to open in November.
George: Hennepin Ave!
Laura: Hennepin.
George: That's — I grew up riding the bus past that stretch. The idea of a dispensary right there, it's just... it's a different city.
Laura: It's a different city, yeah. But in a good way.
George: In a good way.
Laura: And for folks who already have their spots — you've got Wildflower in the North Loop, Simply Crafted up in Northeast, Green Goods down in Bloomington, Edina Canna out west, Stigma if you want the THC beverages route for a lower-key night.
George: Stigma's beverages are what I bring to a friend's house now instead of a six-pack.
Laura: Really?
George: Honest to God. Easier on my sleep. I don't wake up at 4 a.m. staring at the ceiling.
Laura: Okay, see, that's useful information. That's practical.
George: Spendy though, I'll say that. Compared to a tallboy.
Laura: Ope — spendy.
George: It slipped out.
Laura: They keep slipping out.
George: You know what else is spendy? Everything. Everything's spendy.
Laura: Hot take.
George: Thank you, I've been workshopping it.
Laura: Hey — can I push back on something, actually?
George: Please.
Laura: You keep talking about the dispensary scene like it's this... like it's inevitable and everyone's into it. But I know people, especially older folks in my family, who are still kinda... side-eye about it.
George: Yeah, that's fair.
Laura: And I think when we talk about the buildout, we should also just say — it's new. For a lot of people this is a brand new thing in their city and it's okay to take a minute with it.
George: You're right. I get a little... I get a little excited about new businesses opening and I forget that for a lot of folks this is still an adjustment.
Laura: Yeah.
George: Appreciate the catch.
Laura: Always.
George: Okay, weekend. Let's do the weekend. What are we doing?
Laura: Music first?
George: Music.
Laura: Sylvan Esso is at First Ave tonight AND Saturday. Two nights. Doors 7, show 8, 18+.
George: Two nights at First Ave is a moment.
Laura: It's a moment. Papa Mbye opens Friday, Brotherkenzie opens Saturday.
George: I love Sylvan Esso in a room like First Ave. That ceiling, that sound. It's the right room for them.
Laura: And if you're more of a St. Paul, Palace Theatre person, Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentlemen are at the Palace tonight. 18+ as well.
George: That tour's called... hold on—
Laura: "Still Gettin' Away With It."
George: That's a great tour name.
Laura: It's a very good tour name.
George: Theater-wise, Orpheum has The Sound of Music through this weekend — final weekend, closes the 25th.
Laura: Oh! That's a classic touring run. If you've got kids, grandkids, somebody visiting from out of town—
George: Perfect.
Laura: And then the Guthrie has Kunene and the King running through November 8 at the McGuire Proscenium.
George: I keep hearing good things about that one.
Laura: Mm-hmm.
George: Family stuff — because people ask us this every week — the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line is doing a Trick or Trolley on Saturday. 1, 2, and 3 p.m. Five bucks.
Laura: Five bucks!
George: Five bucks, Laura.
Laura: That's a steal. Where else can you spend five dollars and entertain a child for an hour?
George: Nowhere. Nowhere in this economy.
Laura: And Linden Hills Park is doing Halloween at the Hills, Saturday 3 to 5, free. Hayrides, dance party, treats.
George: Hayrides in Linden Hills?
Laura: Hayrides in Linden Hills.
George: That is adorable.
Laura: And Mall of America has the Hmong Arts Celebration Saturday, 12 to 5, also free. Art, performance, culture.
George: That one I'd actually prioritize if you've never been to one. The craftsmanship, the storytelling — it's the real deal.
Laura: Yeah. Really is.
George: Sports. Big sports Sunday.
Laura: Big sports Sunday.
George: Vikings host the Colts, noon at U.S. Bank. Timberwolves host the Raptors, 7 p.m. at Target Center. Back to back.
Laura: Doubleheader of the soul.
George: Doubleheader of the soul.
Laura: And then midweek — Minnesota United's home against Sporting KC on Wednesday at Allianz, 7:30. And the Wild open against the Islanders Thursday at Grand Casino Arena, 7 p.m.
George: Grand Casino Arena still sounds weird to me.
Laura: It's gonna sound weird for a while.
George: It's gonna sound weird for a WHILE. I grew up calling it something else, my dad grew up calling it something else—
Laura: Change is hard, George.
George: Change is spendy.
Laura: Change is spendy!
George: Business beat real quick, because I thought this was cool — Medical Alley opened a thing in Golden Valley called Studio 84. It's a shared flex space for life-science founders and investors.
Laura: That's the one Walz showed up to?
George: Governor Walz was at the launch, yeah. October 15, bunch of medtech CEOs.
Laura: I love that we are quietly, you know, one of the real medtech hubs in the country and most people in the Cities don't even think about it.
George: We just don't brag.
Laura: Minnesota nice. We don't brag.
George: We don't brag. We should brag more.
Laura: We really should.
George: Okay. Takeaway. If there's one thing — one thing — we want people to walk away with from this episode, what is it?
Laura: Hmm. Go to a farmers market tomorrow.
George: Really?
Laura: Really. Because the outdoor season is ending for a lot of them, and the vibe of being outside, bundled up a little, with a hot drink and the last of the fall produce — you don't get that in February.
George: You do not.
Laura: So Mill City, Midtown, or Lowertown — pick one, go tomorrow, buy something from someone who grew it.
George: I love that. That's the takeaway.
Laura: That's the takeaway.
George: Alright, we gotta wrap. Big thanks to our sponsors, mplsvegan.com for keeping the plant-based scene on lock, and mncannabishub.com for being the resource we all need as this scene grows up around us.
Laura: Go support both of 'em.
George: Bundle up this weekend. Try a bagel without a knife.
Laura: Rip and dip.
George: Rip and dip. Give somebody a hug, call your mom, go outside.
Laura: 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).