Birchwood Cafe clears one major hurdle in its move to expand

BY ED FELIEN

He not busy being born is busy dying. Bob Dylan

Tracy Singleton, owner of Birchwood Cafe

The Birchwood Café got a resounding shout of approval Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Community Development Committee meeting of the Seward Neighborhood Group. One hundred forty-one people voted yes and only 28 people voted against Tracy Singleton’s plans to expand the Birchwood by up to 1,700 square feet. This will mean more storage, more refrigeration, an additional bathroom, an entryway vestibule, office space and a little more capacity in the dining room.

They will need to submit a land use application to the City of Minneapolis to rezone the Birchwood Café property from its current R1A zoning to C1 commercial zoning. Singleton will be asking the city to subdivide the neighboring residential property she owns at 2505 33rd Ave. S. and add that additional square footage to the Birchwood Café lot. She is proposing to remove the garage on that lot to make room for the café addition. Both houses at 2505 and 2501 33rd Ave. (which she owns) would retain their residential zoning. The view from the street and the alley access would remain the same, with more room in back to mitigate alley congestion.

According to Tracy Singleton: “I have consulted with architects, structural engineers and contractors to look at expanding with a second floor or digging a deeper basement level. I have met with developers and considered other sites, but my heart and the heart of the Birchwood lies in the Seward neighborhood. For my part, I have reorganized the structure of the business, expanded internally and built better systems to alleviate the stress of our growth. This past March I entered into a short-term lease in the old Seward Co-op building on Franklin Avenue, as a temporary solution, for more kitchen space. These measures reflect my goal to find the right solution that squarely intersects the continued well-being of the neighborhood and the needs of my business so that we, as a community, can continue to support and sustain one another for many years to come.”

She said: “I know from my conversations with you that many of you share my desire to support our local farmers and encourage more people to think about where their food comes from. It is such an important calling in this time. Most importantly for me, I want the Birchwood Café to carry on as a trusted neighborhood institution. I love that the Birchwood is a container for our community—a place where memories are made, ideas are generated, and friends and family connect over good real food.”

Information for this article was taken from the Birchwood Café website and facebook page.