Gallery: Cargo Coffee Grand Opening
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Author Archives: TheEastSider
Star Bar Ready to Shine
One Barrel and Jade Monkey owners collaborate, open bar in Capitol East District
Star Bar, 756 East Washington Avenue, is on the first floor of The Constellation building.
A new bar opening in the 700 block of East Washington Avenue plans to fuse Madison’s near-East Side industrial heritage with the present-day funky vibe of the Tenney and Marquette neighborhoods.
Star Bar, operated by Peter Gentry and Hawk Sullivan, opens January 16 on the first floor of The Constellation building, part of a slate of first floor retail offerings for the 12-story mixed-used building which opened last year.
Both men grew up in the Marquette neighborhood and hope to create a bar that is accessible to the surrounding neighborhood while also seizing on the rising activity in the Capitol East District. Gentry opened One Barrel Brewing on Atwood Avenue in 2012, while Sullivan is a longtime business owner with three other hospitality establishments in greater Madison. Continue reading
Input on Neighborhood Fests Sought
MNA survey wonders aloud if Orton Park Fest should change locations
Orton Park Festival in 2012. Photo by: Thomas Balistreri
The Marquette Neighborhood Association is seeking input from residents through a survey, regarding the scope of their two sponsored neighborhood gatherings: The Orton Park and Marquette Waterfront Festivals. The events are a major city-wide and regional draw and provide a majority of the operating funds for MNA’s other activities. However debate has simmered in recent years about whether they are most effective in their current form and location
While it seems unbelievable to hold the Orton Park Festival somewhere else, the event is bursting at it’s seams. Central Park is now finally taking shape and some have suggested large neighborhood events like OPF and La Fete de Marquette should be held at that location, just like La Fete was during its first years.
Central Park West View
Photo by: Dan Cornelius
I was strolling past Central Park yesterday morning on Wilson Street to get a better view of the progress that has accelerated in the past few months. All the pathways are in along with lighting and benches from Brearly to Baldwin Streets. The restroom facility is still under construction but all that seems left is the exterior treatments as the basic structure, including it’s undulating roof, is complete.
I noticed that on the west side of the restroom building is wide circular plaza ringed with benches and imagined what a nice area it will be on warmer days. I thought to myself that I should take a picture but never got it done. But thanks to resident Dan Cornelius, who took a stunning picture later that day, you can all see what sunsets in Central Park will look like for years to come.
Cargo Coffee on East Wash to Embark in January
Lynn Lee (standing) works on a portion of the floor at the new Cargo Coffee, located in The Constellation. Lynn and his Brother Lee own the franchise.
We dropped by the soon-to-be opened Cargo Coffee on the first floor of The Constellation building on East Washington Avenue to see how the Lee brothers were coming along.
Lyndsey and Lynn Lee, who also own Ground Zero Coffee on Williamson Street have been working for months to transform the space into their second Cargo Coffee location. The space will feature of course coffee, along with some beer and wine offerings, some bakery items, and a drive-thru.
Lyndsey says the store should be open by the middle of January and will feature the same travel theme as their original Park Street location, except the base color inside will be blue.
Requiem for the Big Fitz
Relatives, public gather for ringing of ship’s bell each November
The story of the Edmund Fitzgerald has inspired song, prose, and art including this 18,000 piece 1:60 scale model by high school teacher John Beck. The project began in 2004 to teach his students about shipping. Nine years later it is almost complete.
Most upper Midwesterners know the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a lake freighter that sank in Lake Superior in boiling waters kicked up by a snowy gale around 7:15 p.m. on November 10, 1975. The mystery surrounding its sinking has entranced people far and wide since it was only 17 miles from the safety of Whitefish Bay when the ship met its end.
Each anniversary of the sinking, relatives of the 29 people lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald, in addition to locals, and the curious but reverent general public; crowd into the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum’s shipwreck exhibit at Whitefish Point to memorialize the event in a somber ceremony.
I attended the event in 2012 and had a chance to talk with two family members about the men that they knew on the “Big Fitz”, plus witness the ringing of the ship’s bell which was retrieved from the sunken wreck in 1995.
Articulating Compromise As Clock Ticks
722 developers adjust proposal but neighborhood reaction is still mixed
A revised depiction of 722 Williamson with five stories on Williamson, and seven and nine-story towers at the rear. Courtesy: BDG
Baldwin Development Group (BDG) is determined to build a mixed-use development at 722 Williamson that will honor the Marquette neighborhood planning guidelines and also serve their own commercial interests. However, after Wednesday’s (October 23) meeting with the neighborhood where they presented alternate designs, the way forward is becoming murkier and time is running out.
BDG has met four times with a special Marquette Neighborhood Association (MNA) subcommittee to tweak the design so that it will fit within the guidelines of the Williamson BUILD Plan II that was adopted in 2004. The chief issue is the height of the project, which currently is proposed at 10 stories, giving some pause while others say this is the best kind of infill development for an underutilized space.
722 Willy Developers to Present Project Changes
Three design variations to be presented this week at special P&D meeting
MNA’s Preservation & Development Committee will hold their monthly meeting at a special time on Wednesday October 23 to view proposed changes to the 722 Williamson development. The 722 Williamson Subcommittee of P&D has met several times with the project developers, Baldwin Development Group, and committee chairman Bruce Woods reports that BDG will present several changes based on neighborhood input.
722 Willy Working Group Outlines Concerns
MNA committee sends UDC its initial take on proposed development
It is unknown at this point if meetings between a special Marquette Neighborhood Association working group and Baldwin Development Group will yield any changes to a development planned for the 700 block of Williamson Street. The MNA 722 Subcommittee was formed to work through concerns about the project with BDG after the developer signaled it would seek exceptions to building guidelines developed by the neighborhood.
The 722 Williamson Subcommittee, part of MNA’s Preservation & Development Committee, has met several times now with BDG and last week committee chairman Bruce Woods sent a letter to Madison’s Urban Design Commission outlining their initial concerns. The letter gives no indication that BDG was planning any changes based on the discussions. What the letter does do is formalize and organize the varying concerns and plaudits that have been expressed about the design so far. Continue reading
Meet the New MNA Board
Approximately 100 crowd Annual Meeting to vote on Board, Budget and Bylaws
MNA Board President Michael Jacob.
The MNA Annual Members Meeting was held Thursday night (October 17) and included Board elections, approval of the budget, new bylaws and reports on Committee work such as the 722 Williamson Working Group.
MNA Board President Michael Jacob reported the results of the meeting in an email to the MNA Listserv which can be viewed after the jump.