Before Thursday morning's fire at the Bde Maka Ska pavilion, the lakefront restaurant was rolling out a slew of changes for its second season after a rough first year that brought negative online reviews and less than half its targeted revenue.
Lola on the Lake had made history two years ago when it became the first black-owned business to partner with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board at the lake, where it took over the former Tin Fish location.
"The first year, we got off to a rocky start," owner Louis King said Wednesday, the day before the fire. "It was a very eye-opening experience."
The restaurant had hoped to bring in $1.5 million in 2018, according to its original business plan. Instead, it brought in about $607,000 in total revenue, 12 percent of which goes to the park board.
Park board commissioners were looking at its underperformance as part of the growing pains that came with replacing a longtime concession, and said earlier this month they were confident its second season would be better.
The park board has contracts with a handful of restaurants to operate seasonal concessions in its most popular attractions. They include Sea Salt Eatery at Minnehaha Park, Bread & Pickle at Lake Harriet and Sandcastle at Lake Nokomis.
In late 2017, the park board approved a five-year contract with Lola to replace Tin Fish, which had operated in that spot for 14 years.
King said he hoped to open on April 15 last year, but a historic blizzard delayed the start date. Outside of the shortened season, King referred to that first year at Bde Maka Ska as a "learning year."
"You want to be consistent with your product, you want to have good customer service and you have to have management in place to get that done," he said. "I'm a better owner than I was last year."
Lola opened its second season on May 1. King brought in a new executive chef, Eric Austin of the former Big E's Soul Food restaurant on Nicollet Avenue. They changed up their menu, adding poke bowls, calamari, fries and Dippin' Dots ice cream.
Lola was expected to bring in about $1.6 million in its second year, according to its business plan. But in addition to revenue, the park board also has equity goals to support black-owned businesses and make sure they succeed, Commissioner Jono Cowgill said.
"Part of that role is to bring in revenue, but it's not the only role," he said earlier this month. "The restaurants are part of our system and they are part of the entire park experience."
Park board President Brad Bourn said that before the fire, Lola had already made its mark with its clientele.
"One of the things that I've personally observed is just the greater diversity of people that are visiting the restaurant," he said earlier this month. "It just seems like there is a little bit more cultural relevancy to some of the items on their menu."
Both Bourn and Cowgill said other vendors have had slow starts in their first season.
Residents of the surrounding neighborhood were also encouraging the business to succeed in its second season. Judy Shields, president of the East Calhoun Community Organization, said she was grateful for the restaurant and what it brings to the lake.
As for the negative reviews that plagued the restaurant's Yelp page, King said they had listened to complaints and were working to make adjustments as the season moved along.
"You've got to have thick skin in the business," he said. "If you don't, you're never going to get anywhere."
What happens now, in the aftermath of Thursday's fire, isn't clear.
"It's a terrible, devastating fire and staff is working diligently with the city and the fire department to identify the extent of the damage," said Park Board Commissioner Jono Cowgill, who represents the area where the pavilion once stood.
"Everything has been engulfed and kind of really destroyed," he said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done there."
Cowgill said the park board would work with Lola on the Lake to see how they can keep concessions going in the meantime. One option they are considering would be for the business to serve food from its food trucks, he said.
"They do have food trucks and so there'll be discussions about locations for those," he said, adding that they want to "help the business that has many employees down there not skip a beat."
http://www.startribune.com/before-fire-bde-maka-ska-restaurant-had-hoped-to-rebound-after-difficult-first-year/510013602/ 2019-05-16 14:22:58Z
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