The Crawl: St. Paul library is quiet no more

The James J. Hill Reference Library is one of downtown St. Paul's architectural marvels. It's a historic institution with an important purpose: the cataloging of business information resources.

Times change. As beer bottles clanked together last Thursday, there was no hushing to be had in the library's grand hall. Instead, a library staffer introduced the night's band, Black Blondie, with words she's probably never spoken before:

"Please get loud at the library!" she yelled.

Here, books have given way to bands and beer. The Hill library opened in 1921 and became a leading business repository, with more than 150,000 volumes. But the digitalization of this material has had a huge affect on foot traffic.

"Libraries in general have been completely transformed in the last few years," said library board member Thom Middlebrook. "These are spaces that are crying out to be used. We do a boatload of weddings."

In November, the library debuted Real Phonic Radio, monthly concerts featuring American roots bands. That one is in addition to the concert series that kicked off last week with Black Blondie (which operates under the name "Book It: The Party"). There is a Valentine's Day dance party on Feb. 14, followed by a "literary speed dating" event on Feb. 22. (Don't worry, people still use the reference materials, too.)

"We need to challenge the idea of what it means to be a library," Middlebrook said.

When I entered the "Book It" party, a greeter asked me if I had a library card. No, I did not. A library card gets you a free beer, they responded. "Sign me up," I said.

Since 2010, the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library have hosted three events under the "Book It" banner. Each one featured trivia, beer and a DJ in the St. Paul library next door.

This year is different. The Friends have two more concerts planned for this series (Chastity Brown on Feb. 23 and We Became Actors on March 8). The next Real Phonic Radio show is headlined by blues star Charlie Parr on March 15.

Each of these parties takes place in the Hill's Reading Room, which features stacks outlined by giant stone columns supporting 60-foot ceilings. Dramatic lighting abounds. The neoclassical architecture wasn't lost on those who attended.

"I spend all my time in new school libraries," said Allison Eikenberry, a librarian from Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights. "They're boring. This is fancy."

The evening started with a round of trivia hosted by Jeff Kamin of Books & Bars. Eikenberry headed up the night's winning team, Captains of Industry. She had assembled a crew of like-minded librarians. They've cleaned out other trivia nights before. "We win a lot," said Emily Hope, a librarian at Chippewa Middle School in Shoreview.

Flanked by a cascading wall of books, Black Blondie took to the stage and filled the huge room with its smoky trip-hop sounds. I thought the cavernous room might create a terrible echo, but the books provide a soft cushion, absorbing the reverb. Black Blondie's soulful arsenal -- a mix of hard drums, keys and a stand-up bass -- sounded great.

After wrapping up their one-hour set, lead singer Samahra Daly thanked the crowd and then plugged their next gig, which was taking place a few hours later in Minneapolis. Yep, it was only 9:15 p.m., but the night was over at James J. Hill.

Before I left, I took a long look at the statue of a bearded James J. Hill by the library's entrance. I asked organizer Alayne Hopkins if she thought the old Empire Builder would approve of music and booze in his library.

"The part of James J. Hill that was an entrepreneur would applaud what we're doing," she said. "The rest of him might be rolling in his grave." --Tom Horgen

Sounds like the Graves 601 in downtown Minneapolis will now be home to not one but two great cocktail destinations. Owner Ben Graves says he recently completely renovations in several areas of the upscale hotel, including the fourth-floor restaurant, Cosmos.

The bar portion of the sleek dining spot has now been separated from the dining room amd dubbed the Cosmos Lounge. Graves says he is currently working with bartendering superstar Toby Maloney on a new beverage program. Maloney is responsible for the craft cocktails at Bradstreet, the hotel's first-floor cocktail den (recently named one of the Top 13 Bars in America by Delish.com). In the past, the Cosmos bar featured an adequate cocktail list but nothing like Bradstreet's.

Cosmos Lounge has new furniture and features a DJ most nights (Alex Jarvis is kicking things off). Graves says he will install a new sound system soon.

Bradstreet and Cosmos have been the site of several changes over the past few months. The former added a menu of new mini-sandwiches (try the chicken-and-waffles sammy). While Cosmos has a new chef, John Occhiato.

Stewart and Heidi Woodman, the forces behind the four-star Heidi's, are branching out into the former Duplex (2516 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.).

They're calling their place Birdhouse. The restaurant will emphasize vegetarian and vegan fare (and a juice bar) -- with some ingredients sourced through the city's growing urban farm movement -- but that won't preclude animal proteins. "We're working with the South Dakota bison people to figure out a bison burger," Stewart Woodman said.

"The focus is healthy, everyday eating," Woodman said. "We're thinking of it as the restaurant where we would want to take our kids to eat, every day."

Heidi's sous chef Jordan Hamilton will run the Birdhouse kitchen. "Jordan is a diabetic," said Woodman. "He and I have spent the past couple of years talking about eating a healthy diet, and how to keep the food sexy and beautiful and approachable, the way I hope we're doing it at Heidi's."

The table-service restaurant, will seat 50-plus diners on two floors and will feature a sweet little patio during warm-weather months, and a full bar with a small selection of craft beers and organic wines.

Like Heidi's, the restaurant is named (well, sort of) for Mrs. Woodman, who also happens to be one of the city's most gifted pastry chefs. |"Heidi's Hebrew name is Sephora, which means bird," said Stewart Woodman. Sweet.

A late April/early May opening is planned.

Tao Natural Foods has quietly reopened after a monthlong renovation and slight reinvention. The store and cafe -- pronounced dow -- has been at the same 22nd & Hennepin location since 1971. Current owners (and siblings) Anna Needham and Christina Badger have spent January giving the enterprise a warm new look.

What hasn't changed: Tao's commitment to affordable vegetarian and vegan fare, with an emphasis on organic and naturally raised ingredients. The kitchen works from breakfast (eggs, oatmeal, granola) through dinner (rice and beans, sandwiches, soups and salads), and the juice and coffee bars remain. "Nothing has significantly changed with the food," said operations manager Katy Razin. "We're still all about nourishing the body with wholesome foods that are free of toxins and chemicals. That's always been at the heart of our menu, and it always will be."

The cafe has added a small grab-and-go component. Wine and beer will arrive by the end of the month, and come April there will be an additional 30-plus outdoor seats. Check out the remake this Saturday, when everything in the store -- excluding the cafe -- is 15 percent off.

One of the biggest/nuttiest Prince fans around, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the Roots, has agreed to helm the after-party for the Revolution reunion and benefit show Feb. 19 at First Avenue. Questlove will DJ in the Mainroom following the performance by Prince's "Purple Rain"-era band. Tickets ($10) will go toward the same heart organizations as the Revolution's so-called "Benefit 2 Celebrate Life."

Revolution drummer Bobby Z, whose rebound from a near-fatal heart attack in 2010 spawned this first-ever local reunion of the band, said Questlove has been a longtime friend and wanted to take part in some way. "He kept in close contact even when I was in the hospital," Bobby said. They have been talking about the DJ stint since October, but Questo only just cleared his schedule last week. One more reason to clear your own schedule on Feb. 19.

The Honeydogs are going ahead with their March 10 release party at First Avenue for "What Comes After," their 10th album and first for Grain Belt Records. Now featuring Darren "Kid Dakota" Jackson on guitar, the band will donate $1 from each ticket to a memorial fund for frontman Adam Levy's son, Daniel, who battled mental illness and took his life three weeks ago.

One of St. Paul's oldest bars is trying something new. Gone is O'Gara's Garage (the Irish bar's live-music venue). In its place comes the Shanty, a completely remodeled space that will focus on craft beer and State Fair appetizers (onion rings fried in Schell's batter, anyone?). O'Gara's new party palace will feature shuffleboard and other bar games, plus trivia and a Saturday dance night called "Shake the Shanty" (with capacity for 600 people). The grand opening weekend will feature beer tastings, 2 Gingers Whiskey tastings, plus a lot of music. (6 p.m. Fri 2/3)

Boom Island's beers are available in only two bars right now, but the new Minneapolis brewery (2207 N. 2nd St., Mpls.) already has a buzz. More good news: A City Council subcommittee approved Boom Island's growler license on Monday. The license now awaits Mayor R.T. Rybak's signature. Brewer/owner Kevin Welch says he expects to have growlers for sale by late February or early March.

Boom Island specializes in Belgian-style brews. So far Welch has released a pale ale called Silvius and an American IPA called Thoprock. You can find the beers on tap at Pig & Fiddle and Eli's East. Welch said he plans to expand to more bars in the coming weeks. The beers are also available in stores at Four Firkins, Ale Jail and South Lyndale Liquors.