George and Laura round up the Twin Cities week: a North Woods–themed restaurant in Ericsson, big cannabis law changes, the 2026 Minnesota Business Hall of Fame, and the weekend's biggest events from Mears Park to the U of M.
Bill's Bait Shop opens in Minneapolis' Ericsson neighborhood with fresh fish, smoked chicken, burgers, and a Chicago dog.
Ono Hawaiian Plates moves into the former Guacaya Bistreaux space in the North Loop (kalbi, whole fried snapper, lumpianadas).
NATIFS plants a casual neighborhood restaurant in the former Seward Co-op Creamery on Franklin Ave.
2026 Minnesota Business Hall of Fame inducts David Shea, Beth Wozniak, Tim Murnane, David Reiling, and Beth Kieffer Leonard.
Minnesota's 105-page cannabis omnibus: large-format hemp beverages (750 mL+, 17+ servings, child-resistant bottles) legal August 1.
Forest Lake Mayor Blake Roberts opens the northeast suburb's first cannabis dispensary; 80+ licensed stores statewide.
Weekend: Twin Cities Jazz Festival June 19–20 at Mears Park, and Special Olympics USA Games open June 20 at the U of M.
Also this weekend: St. Paul Saints vs. Omaha Storm Chasers at CHS Field and Six the Musical at the Ordway.
Star Tribune: Bill's Bait Shop
Mpls.St.Paul Mag: New Restaurant Openings 2026
TCB Mag: 2026 Minnesota Business Hall of Fame
MSP Mag: MN Economy at a Crossroads
MPR News: New Cannabis & Hemp Laws
Star Tribune: Forest Lake Mayor Opens Dispensary
Visit Saint Paul: Summer Events
Meet Minneapolis Calendar
SeatGeek: St. Paul This WeekendGeorge: —and that's the thing, Laura, the second the patios open I become a completely different person.
Laura: George, you say that every May like it's a personality reveal.
George: It IS a personality reveal! I go from indoor hermit to "let's sit outside even though it's fifty-eight degrees."
Laura: Ope, there it is. The Minnesota patio threshold. Fifty-eight and sunny? Shorts.
George: You betcha. Shorts and a hoodie. It's the uniform.
Laura: The uniform. Listen, I saw a guy on the Greenway last weekend in shorts, a parka, AND sandals. All three seasons at once.
George: That's a man hedging his bets.
Laura: That's a man who checked the forecast and said "I don't trust you."
George: Smart. Honestly, smart. Because Tuesday it was, what, ninety? And then Wednesday morning I needed a jacket.
Laura: Minnesota in June, doncha know.
George: Don't do the accent, Laura.
Laura: I'm from HERE, George, I'm allowed.
George: You're allowed, I'm just saying, you sound like a tourist who watched one movie.
Laura: Oh, I'm sorry, was that not authentic enough for the Minneapolis-born-and-raised guy next to me?
George: Okay, okay, fair.
Laura: Anyway. Patios. Let's actually do the show.
George: Right. So — quick weather frame. This weekend's looking gorgeous. Like, actually-go-outside gorgeous.
Laura: Which means every patio in the Cities is gonna be a ninety-minute wait.
George: Probably. Which is why I want to talk strategy.
Laura: Strategy?
George: Strategy. Where you go, when you go, and what you eat when you get there.
Laura: Okay, head writer. Walk me through it.
George: So food first. You know I've been on a vegan kick.
Laura: George, you've been on a "vegan kick" for like three years. At what point is it just... your diet?
George: Don't put me in a box, Laura.
Laura: I'm putting you in the box. You're in the box.
George: Fine. But hear me out — J. Selby's in St. Paul, patio weather, one of their sandwiches...
Laura: The dirty Selby.
George: The dirty Selby. Game over. That's the weekend.
Laura: See, I'd push back. You always default to Selby's. There are like six other spots.
George: Name 'em.
Laura: Herbivorous Butcher in Northeast. Trio Plant-Based. Reverie. Hard Times if you wanna feel twenty-two again. Hello Pizza. The Herbalist.
George: Okay, you're right, I default.
Laura: You default HARD.
George: I default hard. But in my defense, Herbivorous Butcher on a Saturday is a scene.
Laura: It IS a scene. But that's part of the fun, no? Northeast on a sunny Saturday, you wander, you grab something, you walk it over to a patio.
George: That's true. The Arts District in June is one of my favorite versions of the city.
Laura: Same. And honestly Reverie on a patio afternoon? Underrated.
George: Reverie is underrated in general.
Laura: It really is. Quiet, good food, you can actually hear the person across from you.
George: Which at my age matters more than it used to.
Laura: George.
George: I'm just saying! First Ave is great, I love First Ave, but I can't have a conversation in there anymore.
Laura: First Ave is not for conversation. First Ave is for being a sweaty witness to history.
George: That's the tagline. Put that on the marquee.
Laura: Speaking of — quick aside — Bill's Bait Shop.
George: Oh, in Ericsson? Yeah, I saw that.
Laura: North Woods theme, opening this month. Fresh fish, smoked chicken, a Chicago dog.
George: A Chicago dog in a North Woods bait shop in Minneapolis. That's a lot of geography on one menu.
Laura: It's a whole map.
George: I'm into it though. The whole "year-round gathering place that feels like a rural bait shop" thing — that's very us.
Laura: It's VERY us. Like, we romanticize the cabin so hard that we'll build a fake one in the city just to feel it.
George: Hey, I will not apologize for cabin energy.
Laura: I'm not asking you to. I'm just naming it.
George: Fair. Worth a mention too — Ono Hawaiian Plates is moving into the old Guacaya space in the North Loop.
Laura: Ooh. Kalbi?
George: Sizzling kalbi, whole fried snapper, something called a lumpianada.
Laura: A lumpianada. I don't know what that is...
