Fire 'N' Ice Building Is Down, Dean Rose YOU DA MAN!!!

Photo by Hawthorne Hawkman, blog post by John Hoff

Dean Rose of Broadway Liquor Outlet said the old Fire 'N' Ice building would be demolished before the end of the year and I said I'd believe it when I see it.

Well, I see it. I believe it.

The photo above shows a souvenir brick and part of an old sign that Jeff Skrenes (the Hawthorne Hawkman) scavenged as souvenirs of neighborhood revitalization. Progress on West Broadway marches forward and the forces of squalor and decay better get out of the way or get run over.

Utilities Disconnected At Fire 'N' Ice On West Broadway As Prelude To Demolition...

Photo contributed by Hawthorne Hawkman, blog post by John Hoff

Jeff Skrenes of the Hawthorne Hawkman blog forwarded this photo yesterday, noting that utilities are being disconnected at the old Fire 'N' Ice building on West Broadway. This right after the former "mutated office building" once owned by Keith Reitman (which was, at one time, a massage place) was demolished yesterday.

Both buildings are being leveled to make way for the new Broadway Liquor Outlet which will feature both commercial space and apartments. 

"Mutated Office Building" At 2419 Penn Ave. N. GOES DOWN, Formerly Owned By Slumlord Keith Reitman (Credit For Photos And Breaking News Info To Hawthorne Hawkman)

Photo by Hawthorne Hawkman, blog post by John Hoff

Jeff Skrenes (Hawthorne Hawkman) who lives right down the street at 26th and Penn noticed activity today and saw the "mutated office building" at 2419 Penn Ave. N. was in the midst of being demolished. Hawkman has work and family obligations and kindly kicked this info my way so I could rush to inform readers of revitalization progress, progress, progress on the West Broadway corridor.

The building, which looked like a house but...

Backhoe of Doom Parked In Front Of Old Fire And Ice Restaurant, Building Is Not Expected To Survive The Year...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

On October 22 this blog published news the old "Fire 'N' Ice" building on West Broadway would not survive the year; at least according to Dean Rose, owner of Broadway Liquor Outlet. My position is I will believe it when I see it, but right now I'm seeing a backhoe parked in front of the building radiating destructive eagerness.

With the old Butter Roll Bakery undergoing renovation, progress seems to be going gangbusters along West Broadway. But it is a case of two steps forward, one step back. The Hillside Chronicles blog, which has been more active of late, is reporting the Kentucky Fried Chicken on West Broadway became closed and boarded out of the blue. 

Could it be there actually is a maximum saturation point for fried food joints on West Broadway?

As much as I don't like to see the loss of a business on West Broadway, the departure of this fast food chain may ultimately be a welcome development. 

New Broadway Liquor Plans Are In The "Public Input" Phase...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

About a week ago I spoke to Dean Rose, the positive-minded owner of Broadway Liquor who is determined to take the "lemons" of tornado damage and turn those lemons into Mike's Hard Lemonade.    
Rose took me back to his office and showed me plans for the new, bigger, improved and super dooper Broadway Liquor megaplex...

"Tornado Magnet Liquor" Sets Up Shop In North Minneapolis, Dares Storm Systems To "Come And Get This Trailer House, Damn You"

Contributed photos by farmpeddler1, blog post by John Hoff

One day, residents of North Minneapolis will laugh about Broadway Liquor Outlet setting up shop in what appears to be some kind of doublewide trailer or temporary FEMA housing. We will need photos to look back upon and remind us.

These might be those photos.

Seriously, Dean Rose of Broadway Liquor Outlet, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? Everybody knows trailer houses are tornado magnets.

Or do you think it's kind of like "lightning won't hit the same place twice"?

Also, readers, note the name of the establishment. It's just "Broadway Liquors," as though "Broadway Liquor Outlet" (BLO) is equivalent to taunting a tornado to come down from the sky and "blow" away the store.

Again.

Pile of Rubble Cleared From Former Site Of BLO (Broadway Liquor Outlet) And, In A Minor Side Note, This Post Marks The "End Of Special Mention For Cell Phone Originated Images" Era On Johnny Northside...

Cell phone photo by farmpeddlar1, blog post by John Hoff

"Farmpeddlar1" took this photo with a cell phone and forwarded it to me. Clearing the rubble away from the former Broadway Liquor Outlet location is a small milestone for tornado recovery in North Minneapolis and I thought somebody should document it.

In a minor aside, this blog has always made sure images come with "photo credits," a sort of obsessive journalism school habit. And in crediting photos, I've always gone out of my way to mention whether the photo is from a cell phone. Well, lately...

More Images, Broadway Liquor Outlet In Rubble...

Contributed images, forwarded by another helpful party, blog post by John Hoff

These images were captured by a North Minneapolis shutterbug, and then forwarded to me by yet another helpful person. These are yet more pictures of "Bye Bye BLO" as Broadway Liquor Outlet is reduced to rubble, a casualty of the North Minneapolis tornado.

How ironic that a place named "BLO" would be blown away by a tornado.

Dear lord, it makes you wonder what could happen to slumlord Keith Reitman's execrable edifice dubbed the "Ugly Ass Chocolate Brown Building"?

Broadway Liquor Outlet (BLO) Is A Pile Of Bricks On West Broadway...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

Broadway Liquor Outlet, (BLO) extensively damaged in the North Minneapolis tornado, was demolished in the last couple days, see photo above.

I thought this milestone moment should be documented. A new BLO is planned nearby, no thanks to "Level Three Slum Offender" Keith Reitman, who could star in the very first episode of a new reality television show called "Slummy Property Hoarders."

Commenting about his refusal to sell a run down property to become part of a new BLO, Keith Reitman quoted the rock singer Madonna and said, "I'm keeping my baby."

This blogger would like to remind Keith Reitman that "Material Girl" was a much bigger hit for Madonna, and "the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mr. Right."

Post Tornado BLO News (Broadway Liquor Outlet)

Photo and blog post by Nomi Passenger

The photo displayed above was taken the day after the infamous Nomi Tornado.  Broadway Liquor Outlet, at the corner of Penn and Broadway, was in the direct path of the twister and, well, you might say took a hard BLO (ha, punny, but not funny).

The much loved northside business has been closed for business since that nasty Sunday in May.  Owner Dean Rose recently attended a neighborhood meeting and I got the BLO-down on what he is hoping and planning for the future...