Foremost street café opens in downtown Owatonna
Owatonna city councilor Kevin Raney, left, and Roger Wareheim of Foremost Brewing Cooperative, cut the ribbon on Foremost’s new street café. Around them are around two dozen Owatonna Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and Foremost members. Staff photo by Joni Hubred
Downtown Owatonna has a new spot for people to gather, with the opening of a street café at Foremost Brewing Cooperative on Broadway.
City officials signed off in April on the raised platform just outside the cooperative brewpub’s front door. Designed to be removed in the off-season, it holds umbrellas and six, four-seat tables.
Foremost cooperative board financial chair Roger Warehime led the ribbon cutting ceremony on a beautiful spring Wednesday. A mechanical engineer by degree, he designed the wood structure after gathering ideas by looking at other street cafes.
“Then it was just a matter of sitting down and trying to find the right balance between seating and cost," he said. “Does it come apart, is it easy to build.”
Volunteers built the six, 4-by-12 platforms over four days and assembled them at Foremost the Sunday before the ribbon cutting. The area is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. Wareheim said neighboring business owners suggested the wheelchair access ramp off Broadway, which also was needed for Foremost’s grain deliveries.
Sponsors who covered about 60% of the building costs include Alexander Lumber, which provided materials; Mike and Jo Ann Kerr; Fred and Diane Venture; friends Elizabeth and Jeff Malo, Ken and Cheryl Deason, Kathy and Nate Oland, Kristin and Terry Glynn, Dom and Darla Wondra, and Dave and Jodi Cochlin; Paul and Angela Herzog; Jack and Diane Spitzack; and Duane and Karen Ludewig.
Wareheim said Foremost is running a membership campaign to raise capital; it includes a raffle for a pint of beer each week for a year.
Having a finished project, he said, “is a great feeling. I just love seeing people enjoy it.”
The street café will remain open through Oct. 15. Owatonna Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Brad Meier said it fits with the overall goal for the central business district.
“We’re trying to make downtown a place for people to gather,” he said, adding that outdoors “is where people want to be. This gives them another option for an entertainment venue.”
Council member Kevin Raney said one of the city’s long-time goals has been to support downtown revitalization, including the Cedar Avenue streetscape project. He said he has been a proponent of street cafés for many years.
“This is absolutely what I envisioned for a street café,” Raney said. “This is one more thing that’s going to bring people into downtown Owatonna.”