‘They’re not listening’: Lowertown business owners put city government on blast

In the Winter 2025 edition of our magazine, Thinking Minnesota, I wrote about the dire effects of years of “progressive” governance on the economy of Lowertown in St. Paul. A once thriving hub of bars and restaurants, Mears Park now has only one left operating in the area.

Round the corner on 5th and Wall Street, Saint Dinette will close on March 22 after eleven years. In an interview with owner Tim Niver, Jess Fleming of the Pioneer Press writes:

…the story of Saint Dinette, and its fate, are emblematic of a larger issue: Many restaurants downtown, and particularly in Lowertown, are suffering, closed or on their way to it.

In general, owning a restaurant is harder than ever. Inflation has slashed profit margins for owners who are hesitant to raise prices lest they lose their regulars. Labor prices have leaped. Rent everywhere is sky-high, and interest rates make it unappealing to own a building. And customers, who are facing their own financial woes with interest rates, housing costs and inflation, have less money to spend on eating out.

All of this is true, but the actions — or inactions, frequently — of St. Paul’s city council make it especially hard in Lowertown:

Saint Dinette’s across-the-street neighbor, Big River Pizza, is one of those teetering on the edge of closure. Owner Steve Lott said Lowertown’s changes include an influx of unhoused people, many of whom suffer from addiction and mental illness. While Lott used to be the first to offer an in-need person a free slice, he said he’s grown jaded from burglaries, overdoses on his street corner, a gun left in his restaurant and even a murder in the apartments above Big River.

Lott said an unpoliced light-rail line — which ends a block from his restaurant — and nearby facilities that help unhoused people are contributing to the problem.

“I think elected officials have good intentions,” Lott said. “But some of the policies have negatively impacted the business community.”

…

As for Niver, he said that although he’s at peace with Saint Dinette’s closure, he does feel a little let down by city officials. Moves such as raising the minimum wage to $15 without a tip credit have made things more difficult for restaurant owners, and empty properties make coming downtown less appealing for those who don’t live there.

“They have hearings,” Niver said of city officials. “But they’re not listening.”

I’ll conclude here as I concluded my magazine article:

What bad policy has done can be undone by good policy. Lowertown, and St. Paul generally, are failing because they have been woefully led over an extended period. The city has been subjected to a thorough treatment of “progressive” policies with predictable results. If these same policies are implemented statewide or nationwide for an extended period, we will see the same results.  

Occasionally, I’ll be driving on Highway 52, see Lowertown, and tell my son that is the first place he ever lived. I also tell him that it was a great place to live once upon a time and that I hope it is again when the time comes for him to find his own place. Better leadership and better policy are a necessary first step for its recovery.