☕ Dogwood's bold Lake Street expansion

After 10 years leasing its shop on 41st and Lake, Dogwood Coffee is planning a major expansion into the neighboring vacant lot. 

Some details are still up in the air, but owners Dan and Angie Anderson are preparing to break ground this summer on a four-story building that will house a new Dogwood coffee shop at street level, an expansion of their neighboring Coven East Lake coworking space on the second floor, and two stories of apartments. 

Quick history

Dan was one of four partners that opened the innovative cafe Parka on 41st and Lake in 2013. Though critically acclaimed — and some might say ahead of its time, in that era of neighborhood dining — it struggled financially and closed the following year. Faced with breaking the lease, he and Angie instead decided to move their burgeoning coffee company into the space.

While the shop proved viable, the full-service kitchen built for Parka has always been overkill for Dogwood’s coffee service, taking up precious space in place of seating and creating an awkward flow of traffic that can jam up during peak hours. Even after expanding into another room vacated by Forage Modern Workshop, the Andersons (no relation to the realty firm they share a building with) felt the squeeze of the space. They had long had their eyes on the vacant lot owned by their neighbors across the grass, the graphic design firm Studio MPLS, and when the firm's staff went fully remote during the pandemic, owner Dan Olson sold them the building and lot.