Kiger's Notebook

Massage clinic to plant new express location near downtown

When a flower flourishes beyond what its location can support, gardeners often take cuttings from it to plant in new areas.

That's a pretty accurate description of what Tina Ridler is doing with her new spin-off of the Med City's popular Lilac Wellness Center.

While her main massage and health clinic at 3270 19th St. N.W. in the 19th Street Business Park isn't going anywhere, she is ready to plant a new Lilac Wellness Express location closer to Rochester's downtown.

She said she hopes to open the doors of her second Lilac at 606 Second St. S.W. in early July.

The concept is that Lilac Express will be a same-day appointment/walk-in friendly facility designed to cater to downtown professionals and Mayo Clinic visitors.

That means it will focus on different services than her full massage studio. The express will offer shorter, "over the clothes" treatments more in the 30-minute range. The services will include chair massage, "Pillossage" (Thermal Tissue Release), aromatherapy, hand massage, scalp massage, shiatsu, cranio/sacral as well as reflexology.

"Don't let the express services fool you," said Ridler of her new project. "This office plans to be a tranquil healing oasis in the midst of our city's downtown hustle and bustle."

Why launch a satellite like this?

Ridler said she wants "to expand Lilac's reach in the community." Plus, she and her staff receive many requests from potential clients who are located in downtown.

To get this new endeavor rolling, Lilac's team of seven professional therapists, including Ridler, will staff the express location at the start. The plan calls for more staff members to be hired as business picks up.

Boutique to surface after decades under downtown Rochester

After decades under the streets of downtown Rochester, Exquisite Leather, Luggage and Furs is surfacing with two new locations to complement its subway shop.

Originally opened as Le Sac by Diane Domino in the Zumbro Hotel in 1973, Exquisite Leather has moved several times in the Med City's downtown. For many years, it has been based in the subway of the Kahler Grand Hotel.

Exquisite Leather, Luggage and Furs is a women’s boutique featuring clothing, jewelry, purses, luggage as well as leather and fur coats.

Now, owner Lisa Ihrke, Domino's daughter, is bringing the business up into the sunlight by opening an Exquisite Leather boutique on the Peace Plaza at 100 1st Ave. S.W. That's the former T. Welke & Co. space, which was the Baby Clementine storefront prior to that.

Ihrke, with general manager Lynne Riley, said she hopes to open that new street-level shop in early June.

"This spot has some of the greatest foot traffic in the town," said Ihrke of choosing the place for her second Rochester store. "And the building owner, George Psomas (owner of nearby Mac's Restaurant), has been great to work with."

Once that shop opens, Rochester will have a pair of Exquisite sites, but Ihrke won't be done until she has a trio. She also has purchased the Nordic Gypsy building at 20 Historic Third St. S.W. and said she plans to open her third Exquisite Leather store there this fall.

So why the triple play in the Med City?

"First, we love Rochester. I had a store in the Twin Cities, but we closed that and decided to focus completely on Rochester," she said. "And Rochester needs more retail."

Once everything is up and running, Irhke expects to have up to nine people working at the three stores under Riley's management.

Rochester coffee & tea shop's Kickstarter campaign in final sprint

It looks like Chris Holloway's Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 to finish off his new downtown Rochester coffee house project is kicking it into high gear in the final hours.

Holloway is working on Press – Coffee and Tea Lounge at 315 S. Broadway. It's next to the new Canvas & Chardonnay.

With about a day left in the campaign, the tally is at almost 14,000. A few more "Benefactor Club" pledges might put him over the top.

His prospective shop is in the middle of a stretch of old classic downtown buildings from the 1800s. Think exposed brick and old hardwood floors.

His hope is to be able to start pouring in early June. It'll stay open at least until 10 p.m., maybe later.

Holloway has lined up Roastery 7, a well-known artisan coffee roaster in Brooklyn Center, Minn., as the pipeline to supply the jolt juice.

Here's an unexpected behind-the-scenes twist: Holloway doesn't drink coffee himself. However, he is a big fan of tea. So he is pretty excited about the recent move of one the area's largest tea importers — Mandala Tea — from Winona to just a few blocks north from him.

"Mandala Tea will provide flavorful loose-leaf tea for all of our teas, including the iced teas," he says. "I didn't want to spare the expense on the coffee or tea. We'll have the best coffee and tea in town."

After the two main drinks, a coffee shop also needs to have food. Holloway is in talks with People's Food Cooperative to provide an array of morning pastries, deli sandwiches and salads for lunch, and desserts for late-night snacks. People's is a future neighbor of Press, building a new grocery store with its own eatery a few blocks to the south. And if the arrangement with People's doesn't work out, Holloway is considering other local options.

He expects to have seating for about 40, plus a few more on a small back patio. Soon he'll start hiring his staff of about 10.

Unlike corporate caffeine chains, the plan is to create a unique atmosphere that invites customers to linger, chat, collaborate or just recharge.

Holloway has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the final $15,000 he needs to get Press open. Backers will receive a wide range of rewards, depending on their level of investment.

Give $10 and you get a decal and your name on the Founders Wall. Give $1,000 and you get free coffee or tea for life. There are many levels of rewards in between.

It won't be the rewards, though, that he believes will convince people to give.

"I have confidence that people will see value in this project. I think they will really want to help make it happen," says Holloway.

Collaboration rolling toward Rochester streets

While it isn't street-ready yet, several of Rochester's public transportation businesses are trying to put together an alliance to pool their resources and ultimately improve the experience getting from Point A to Point B in the Med City.

Details are still being hammered out and nothing is finalized yet, but it sounds like it will probably happen.

I chatted with someone involved with deal. He wasn't comfortable being identified yet, but he did offer a few insights of what might be coming down the road.

The businesses involved would retain their individual identities. However, they will join forces to handle needs they have in common, fleet maintenance in particular.

"The alliance wants to ensure a seamless experience for customers by providing a prompt, efficient and more consistent transportation service across all product lines," he said. "A world-class medical center deserves a world-class transportation system and we intend to deliver."

That sounds like a lofty goal that fits well with Mayo Clinic's Destination Medical Center initiative.

One interesting element is that it involves many types of transportation as well as bringing direct competitors together under the alliance's umbrella.

While these local businesses might not make it all the way to their targeted destinations, the journey itself sounds like one that could improve what happens on Rochester's streets.

I'll keep tracking this one. Stay tuned.

With weather warming, hot dog man to return to downtown

It feels as if the weather finally has taken a turn for the better and maybe, just maybe, the dogs of winter are leashed again for at least a few months.

That means it's time to start relishing the spring days in the Med City again.

And what better way to do that than with downtown Rochester's gem, Murph's Diamond Dogs. On Monday, Rick Murphy plans to roll out his cart and start serving hot dogs for the hungry packs hunting for a quick and tasty lunch.

Look for the genial Murphy with his ball cap and stainless steel cart at his usual spot in the Peace Plaza by O & B Shoes.

The Pine Island man and his cart have added flavor to downtown for eight years.

That means he has been around downtown longer than the University of Minnesota-Rochester, Sontes, Chester's, the Minnesota BioBusiness Center, 300 First, Social Ice, 318 Commons, Big Brad's, Hot Shots! and lots of other changes.

He was already selling dogs when people started saying "Rah-Rah" about Rochester.He was downtown long before it became "The Place To Be." He was here when DMC was just part of the name of an '80s rap group.

Quite simply, downtown is Murph's turf.

With sun shining and people buzzing around the plaza, it'll be good to have him back where he belongs.

Rochester's DMC tight rope walk - Looking for people for article

Last week I interviewed a few local leaders about the DMC tight rope walk, particularly after last week's political chatter about Rochester being boring.

It seems the path is between "Rochester needs money to be better" and "Rochester is a great city."

I'm looking for to interview folks who normally don't get quoted in the newspaper for feedback on if Rochester actually is dull? Dull or not, everyone seems to have ideas about what this city needs to improve the quality of life here plus add some zest to the community's personality.

Beside looking for the opinions of average people, I'd also like to chat with some young doctors as well as some patients visiting here for medical treatment.

If you are interested, please contact me at jkiger@postbulletin.com or 285-7798.

Oronoco couple signs for $145 million loan to buy Kahler hotels

Here's some from my piece today that pulls back the cloak of secrecy from the mysterious new ownership of the Kahler portfolio of hotels:
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Loan documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that Javon Bea, a Wisconsin hospital executive who lives in Oronoco, is the driving force behind the $230 million purchase of four Rochester hotels, anchored by the Kahler Grand Hotel.

Bea, along with his wife Vita Bea, signed as "sponsors" to borrow $145 million from Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corp., part of the German banking giant Deutsche Bank, to finance the deal to buy the hotels from Sunstone Hotel Investors, according to the documents, which are public information and available online. The deal, which was announced in February, also included the Textile Care Services laundry business.

The hotels are the Kahler Grand, the Kahler Inn & Suites, the Marriott Rochester at Mayo Clinic and the Residence Inn.

Bea also is listed as sole owner of RochesterBevFlow, which holds the liquor license for the Kahler hotels. The transfer of the liquor license is on the agenda for the Rochester City Council meeting tonight.

Bea, a former vice president of operations for Saint Marys Hospital, has been chief executive officer of Mercy Health System in Janesville, Wis., since 1989. He has not responded to repeated interview requests in recent months.

Bea previously has been identified as an investor in the Kahler purchase as well as a consultant to the ownership group by Merl Groteboer, the Rochester Realtor who represented both sides of the deal.

The financing for the Kahler purchase was outlined in Deutsche Bank's SEC filings:

• Three Deutsche Bank loan components  — $110 million, $10 million and $25 million, totaling $145 million — provided the bulk of the financing, at an interest rate of 7.4 percent.

• "The Borrower" provided $45.8 million in equity. Javon R. Bea and Vita E. Bea are identified as the sponsors of the borrowers and the guarantors.

• Sunstone, a real estate investment firm based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and owned the Kahler properties for 16 years, retains a $25 million equity investment in the hotels.

SEC documents filed by Sunstone also show that the California company retained $14 million in "liability related to the Portfolio's pension plan." Sunstone also provided "a $3.7 million working cash advance to the Buyer that will repaid from the Portfolio's available cash flow."

According to insiders, one of Bea's plans for the hotels is to offer transitional medical care for people recovering from treatment at Mayo on one or two floors of the 660-room Kahler Grand. The hotel is across Second Avenue Southwest from Mayo's Gonda Building and south of Rochester Methodist Hospital.

Industry experts say such a blending of hotel and hospital has been discussed in other markets, but no one has tried it in Minnesota.

Historic Third getting a new bar?

Rochester's Historic Third St. S.W. is really hopping these days with The Tap House, The Downtown Kitchen, Sontes, Bilotti's and, of course, John Kruesel (He is as much of an attraction and landmark as any historic building in downtown).

And now the buzz is that a new bar is in the pipeline for the Med City's coolest side street.

A liquor license request is on the agenda for tonight's Rochester City Council meeting.

The name is The Doggery and the address is 18 Third Ave. S.W. That's old Mercentile Exchange building.

The name on the license is Aynsley Michael Jones. He's a high-profile downtown bartender, who I believe was at City Cafe the last I heard of him.

That's all I've got for now. Not sure where it would be in the building or if it would impact Artistic Framers or Nordic Gypsy.

 

 

 

Mayo Clinic Biz Accelerator already speeding along

Here's some from my 2nd Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator story of the week. I'll have more in seperate post soon.

The just-opened Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator is already bursting at the seams with companies, including some local start-ups that are ready to aim high.

"We want to be the Amgen (the largest biotechnology company in the world) of Rochester," says Dr. John Burnett Jr., who with Dr. Horng Chen founded Zumbro Discovery just a few weeks ago.

The pair develop peptides to help treat medical conditions and two of their previous creations were licensed by out-of-state companies.

"We really had the desire to set something up here," says Chen. And as the inventors, they believe they will be able to better direct the course of the product as well as do it faster.

Their first patented peptide is designed to treat a condition known as Resistant Hypertension. It is generally defined as high blood pressure that standard treatments can't lower. About 10 to 20 percent of people diagnosed with hypertension are believed to be resistant.
It can lead to heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke as well as kidney failure.

The Federal Drug Administration has already given the doctors the greenlight to begin testing on patients with Resistant Hypertension and they hope to do that by the end of the year.

"Being in the Accelerator is great for a young, virtual company like us. It gives a chance to interact with venture capitalists and network with other businesses," says Burnett. "And it is just a short walk from our lab."

The Accelerator offices in the Minnesota BioBusiness Center were packed this morning as crowds of Mayo Clinic administrators, city officials and community leaders packed into the just-completed space to christian is open for business.

It's "business" is to speed up local business development and ultimately create new jobs.

“The Accelerator is an example of the strength of a strong partnership between Mayo Clinic and the community to make it easier and more affordable for companies to start and locate in Rochester,” says Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy.

A collaboration between Mayo Clinic, the City of Rochester and Rochester Area Economic Development Inc., the Accelerator is starting out with a full boat of tenants that include biotech businesses, medical device makers, software start-ups, venture capitalists and health care consultants.

Funded by $100,000 from Mayo Clinic and $100,000 from local sales tax money, the 2,500-square-foot cluster of offices is located on the second floor of the city-owned Minnesota BioBusiness Center. RAEDI is handling the management and leasing of the space.

“We hope to provide a nurturing space for new company formation in Rochester,” says Jim Rogers of Mayo Clinic Ventures.

Mayo Clinic adds DC/NYC PR firm to rachet up 'thought leadership'

Interesting. It looks like Mayo Clinic is contracting a high-powered PR firm, Widmeyer Communications, to promote public appearances on a national stage for CEO Dr. John Noseworthy and other Mayo Clinic leaders.

Actually, Mayo doesn't call it promote. They say 'thought leadership.' I'm not certain exactly what that entails. I don't believe surgery is involved, but I could be wrong. Heh.

I should point out that I'm very impressed by Mayo Clinic's in-house communications team in Rochester. Very sharp, efficient and professional people as well as patient with annoying journalists. I'm not sure what Widemeyer can do that they can't. I guess we'll find out.

Here's some from a PRWeek article by Virgil Dickson that quotes Mayo Clinic's Chris Gade. I remember way back when Chris was merely a spokesman.

“We're an organization with a 150-year history in medicine, medical research, and education. As healthcare continues to change, we want to continue to be a resource for healthcare in the nation and around the world,” said Chris Gade, chair of the division of external relations at Mayo Clinic. “One way to do that is identifying the appropriate forums and places for thought leadership.

Mayo hired Widmeyer based on work it did for other clients. The contract is for one year. Gade declined to disclose the firm's budget.