Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
What's Going On at Hey Y’All?
When the owners behind Hey Y’All Tipsy Taco Bar announced their concept for the former Betty Danger’s space (2501 Marshall St. NE, Minneapolis), the reception was mixed. Folks seemed happy that the Ferris wheel would live on, but paying $7 to $10 for a single taco seems awfully steep. Before the place even soft-opened, it was forced to rebrand "in response to trademark concerns" after initially going by Big Star Tipsy Taco Bar.
A few weeks ago, Hey Y'All hosted an opening reception and, according to online reviews, it did not go well and it hasn’t really gone well since. Reviews on Yelp and Google are pretty brutal, with complaints including a buggy QR ordering system, frazzled staff, and long wait times for food.
“It took 45 minutes to get 1 out of 3 cocktails. When asked if they had the ability to make a spicy margarita we were told they 'ran out' out of margaritas—isn’t this a taco place and 6:15 p.m. on opening night?” writes one reviewer. “It was $100 for 3 cocktails (once we got all of them an hour later) and 3 appetizers... it seems that the staff has had little to no training on how to accommodate or empathize with the customer.”
Yikes!
Points to the owner, who seems to be responding with lengthy apologies on Google (“running out of margaritas at a Tex-Mex taco bar is like forgetting the candles at a birthday party—it shouldn’t happen, especially at 6:15 p.m.”). Redditors have suggested that the responses from Hey Y'all are AI generated; for what it's worth, the AI tester I use determined one apology to be 27.66% AI GPT—that's mostly human! Hopefully, for their sake, they can course correct quickly.
No, Trump Can’t Free Derek Chauvin
But he can pardon him for his federal conviction in the murder of George Floyd. And as we approach the fifth anniversary of Floyd's death, rumors are swirling that Trump might indeed try just that. But it’s important to remember that a presidential pardon wouldn’t clear Chauvin of his state-level criminal conviction; it would just mean the convicted murderer would move from a federal prison to serve out his 22.5-year sentence in a state facility.
While Trump claimed earlier this year that he wasn't even aware of a right-wing movement to pardon Chauvin, slimeballs like unelected VP Elon Musk, podcaster Ben Shapiro, and, more recently, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have been clamoring for it. So it’s probably best to be prepared.
“So, no indication whether they’re going to do it or not, but I think it behooves us to be prepared for it,” Gov. Tim Walz tells Andy Mannix and Jeff Day at the Star Tribune. “With this presidency, it seems like that might be something they would do.”
Adds AG Keith Ellison via a statement: “Trump has no power to pardon Chauvin’s state conviction. None. The only conceivable purpose would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law.”
In other locally angled Trump administration news: Daniel Rosen, who will likely become Minnesota’s next U.S. Attorney, has never served as a prosecutor; he’s mainly known as a civil litigator who specializes in eminent domain cases. Watch out, property owners!
“If you’re going by traditional credentials, it’s a very unusual pick,” Hamline University law professor David Schultz tells Mike Mosedale at the Minnesota Reformer. “Generally, you’re looking for people with more of a prosecutorial background. I can’t think of any situation where you would need an eminent domain expert in that office.”
Herbivorous Butcher Is Closed… For Now
Enough with the fires! The owners of Minneapolis vegan deli shop Herbivorous Butcher announced Wednesday morning that they are closed until further notice due to a fire that broke out inside their building at 507 First Ave. NE last night.
“Our kitchen suffered serious damage,” they write via Instagram. “The fire department had to flood the space, and everything is now a mess. We’re still taking it all in—and figuring out what comes next.” That also means no DoorDashing or GrubHubbing for now.
The first vegan butcher shop in the U.S. (maybe even worldwide?), Herbivorous Butcher began as a pop-up biz at the Minneapolis Farmers’ Market in 2014 before moving into its flagship northeast Minneapolis space in 2016. It’s been a tough year for the HB gang; earlier this year sister/brother owners Aubry and Kale Walch announced that Herbie Butcher’s, their south Minneapolis vegan fried chicken shop, was closing after four years of business. You can, however, still enjoy their vegan eats at J. Selby’s.
Neighbors Unite Against Pickleball Ban
Another day, another suburban neighbor complaining about signs of life around them. This time we’re in Maple Grove Park, where locals have come together to protest a pickleball ban on the tennis courts of Fish Lake Woods Park (there sure is a lot going on in that name!).
Use of the park’s courts for pickleball purposes was banned by the city after receiving noise complaints from a single neighbor who is asking folks to pickleball at any other nearby park. (Lady, I live a block from basketball courts, a pickleball court, a skate park, a baseball field, and a grade school—let me tell you about ambient noise.)
"There are so many people who want to use these courts," John Messerly tells WCCO News. "They say it's ridiculous [to ban it]. Our taxes pay for this."
Messerly is hoping to bring pickleball back to the park via his petition, which he notes has hundreds of signatures. Pro-pickleball advocates say that playing with quieter equipment, limiting hours, or erecting some type of sound barrier should be in play rather than a complete ban. They’ll be making their case at a Parks and Rec Board meeting this Thursday.
