Controversial new north Minneapolis bar Tap In is gearing for launch

At night, the corner of Lowry and Upton avenues in north Minneapolis is now awash in the magenta lights of Tap In, a slick new restaurant and craft cocktail bar.

The building at 2618 Lowry Av. N. was once a SuperAmerica gas station, but had been vacant for years before developer Christopher Webley, who also owns the New Rules event space a half-mile down the block, transformed it. There was a "soft opening" in October, and Tap In's team is now completely engrossed in crossing the finish line, according to an email from the business. Webley declined to comment further.

While some residents and neighborhood leaders are eager for the launch of a new business in an area with few entertainment options, others have taken concerns about the business — and its owner's other ventures — to City Hall, delaying its launch.

Tap In's groundbreaking took place last May with a touch of fanfare — Mayor Jacob Frey and Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw tossed shovels of dirt — but subsequent licensing has been a rollercoaster.

Supporters of the venture, including other North Side business owners, are grateful that an eyesore has been replaced with a modern social space that will provide jobs and boost community connections. But some immediate neighbors, wary of late-night noise, say they've been thrown off by the space's shifting plans.

An initial flyer that Webley circulated in 2021 requested neighbors' support for rezoning so he could build an "innovation hub," an artist workspace and small business incubator with room for community gatherings. Neighbors loved the vision, but when a sign went up the following summer announcing Tap In would be a bar, many felt misled.

When Tap In applied for licenses last February to serve alcohol and stay open until 2 a.m., most of the feedback was negative.

It didn't help that, two months earlier, a pipe burst at Bell Lofts, an apartment building Webley owned at 816 N 21st Av., displacing more than 20 low-income families three days before Christmas. Some of those residents also spoke against Tap In, and city staff recommended that the council deny the licenses.

"Usually when we have something like this coming up in north Minneapolis, people are 100 percent, they want to see this happening," said Council Member Jeremiah Ellison. "So to have a number of residents come out today and say 'we're not sure about this,' that certainly resonates with me."

Ellison encouraged Webley to re-engage the immediate neighborhood before taking another stab at licensing.

Danecha Gipson, executive director of the Cleveland Neighborhood Association, said she believes Webley has connected with the community. And while the displacement of Bell Lofts residents was traumatic, Webley should be commended for investing in the neighborhood in other ways, she said.

"We in the Cleveland neighborhood don't really have too many businesses," Gipson said. "We have a church, a couple of stores, stuff like that. We don't have nothing that serves live entertainment. So I was excited when he said that they were making moves to put something there."

When Webley went back to the city in October to ask again for a liquor license, he specified that normal hours of operation would be 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Tap In would stay open until 1 a.m. only on special occasions, and there would be no dancing, assuring neighbors it would not be a nightclub.

This time, more North Side residents came out to support Tap In, and while the City Council was split — five out of 13 voted against — the bar ultimately received its liquor license after staff promised to impose conditions if there are complaints and problems come up during inspections.

Tooties, a low-key beer and burger joint that for a long time was the only eatery on this stretch of Lowry, initially opposed Tap In for the same reasons that other neighbors felt deceived about its nature. But as Tap In gets closer to completion, owner Lili Johnson said she's hoping for the best — which is that the bar would be as chill as it looks from the outside, and even help direct more business to Tooties.

"There's a lot of neighbors around that are still pretty frustrated with the whole situation, but I just kind of shrug and say I guess we just need to wait and see what happens, because it could be fine," Johnson said.

Tap In still has two outstanding permits in the way of final approval of its business license: a plumbing permit and a commercial permit, requiring payment of some $12,000 in sewer fees.