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THE MAGAZINE FOR YOUR LIFESTYLE

scene in the west metro NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017

inside hometown holiday tradition page 8

they’re over a barrel

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game day treats and hotspots page 16

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As we turn our attention away from frolicking on the lakes and get out our snow boots and dust off the sleds, we also turn our attention to the holidays.

In this issue of Scene in the West Metro, we have your winter covered - from game day treats and eats to spreading holiday cheer, with a just a pinch of tradition sprinkled in.

On top of that, we take a look at Waconiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own blog lady, Bobbie Jo Fischer; and get a little insight from a pair of local coopers on the process behind making barrels.

From our family to yours, we wish you all very happy holidays. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the Scene in the West Metro!

Volume 2, No. 6 Scene in the West Metro November-December 2017 EDITOR AT LARGE / Jason Schmucker SALES MANAGER / Jeremy Bradfield Contributors Hannah Broadbent Adam Quandt Jason Schmucker Production Jason Schmucker....................Artistic design Advertising Norma Carstensen...................Sales support Terri Dammann.........................Sales support Kristi Pexa.................................Sales support Beau Siegel...............................Sales support

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| NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 | 1

be SEEN in SCENE

Expand your opportunities and audience with Scene in the West Metro CONTACT AN AD REP TODAY! BEAU SIEGEL beau.siegel@ecm-inc.com

SCENE IN THE WEST METRO NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017

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the blog lady

8

holiday tradition

On any given morning, Bobbi Jo Fischer is up before the sun. She wakes up at daybreak for herself - to run her new lifestyle blog, Robby Gene. “Robby Gene: The Destination for Contemporary Women over 40” officially launched in August.

The air is crisp, and you can almost smell the Thanksgiving turkey cooking as gold and red leaves carpet the ground in the west metro. Yes, the holidays are coming – so why not celebrate the kick-off of the season with an old-fashioned tree-lighting ceremony?

12

over a barrel

16

game on

To make a good spirit, you need to make the perfect barrel to put it in. That’s when the men behind Altas Barrel in Watertown knew they would do both - run a cooperage, and, later, a rum distillery.

NORMA CARSTENSEN norma.c@ecm-inc.com TERRI DAMMANN terri.damman@ecm-inc.com KRISTI PEXA kristi.pexa@ecm.inc.com

If you’re friends have gathered, the wings are hot and the beer is cold, it must be game day. Whether you’re looking for a classic sports bar or something a little different, the west metro has a variety of options for your game day needs.

ON THE COVER: Bobbi Jo Fischer is the author and creator of a blog aimed at women over 40. She is pictured in her home office, where she produces “Robby Gene: The Destination for Contemporary Women Over 40.” (Photo by Hannah Broadbent)

2 | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 | WESTMETROSCENE.COM

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n any given morning, Bobbi Jo Fischer is up before the sun. Fischer has grown used to waking up early and working hard for the people in her life. Her father, brother and daughter are all people in her life for which she has been a caretaker, but now she wakes up at daybreak for herself - to run her new lifestyle blog, Robby Gene.

“Robby Gene: The Destination for Contemporary Women over 40” officially launched in August.

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story and photos by hannah broadbent

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like Popsugar or Marie Claire, there are no celebrities and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m never going to make a 50 page slideshow,â&#x20AC;? Fischer said with a laugh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for women who have gone through something and want to live a healthier life.â&#x20AC;?

Fischer lives in Waconia. She and her husband built their house 19 years ago, and have raised two children there. Fischer describes herself as an entrepreneur, though she also sold real estate for 10 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a wonderful career but I never felt like I was in the right place,â&#x20AC;? she said.

In 2009, her life changed. Her father passed away from cancer, and weeks later her brother had a stroke. In the process, her 13-year-old daughter had surgery to remove a brain tumor. She remembers caring for her daughter while running her brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business.

Fischer said her days were filled with constant research finding solutions for her family. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you can take time for yourself,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; so I decided to take it myselfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Fisher said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love my family and being there for them, but the toll

it took on me is what snuck up on me.â&#x20AC;?

Fischer said she wanted to do something where she could be with her kids. She got the idea of blogging from her daughter, Ellie, who had her own blogs in high school. Fischer remembers finding out about her daughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog by seeing all the free things that were coming in the mail.

Ellie said she was receiving them to review on her blog.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The time was right, [Ellie] was pushing me and it sounded like fun,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Fischer said had gotten good at researching from her experience with caregiving. For example she had read that acupuncture could help stroke victims to walk - she said sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never forget the first time her brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leg moved again after trying it. Fischer also said that most websites she had come across seemed to be for younger girls and she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t relate at her age.

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She said she has been focusing on simpler things, like make-up, style, working out and wellness tools, but soon she wants to start adding deeper content related to caregiving, spouses, changing careers at 40 and perhaps passing parents. Fischer said everything thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the site includes things that she uses, does or has gone through.

For example she had a post on Kombucha, a fermented drink of tea and sugar, she said she drinks it everyday.

Though at times she says it can still be hard to find content, and she easily spends many late nights and weekends looking for new material. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purposeful and meaningful so it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel time consuming, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything on my website is really me.â&#x20AC;?

Ă&#x153; /ŠĆ&#x153;ĹşĆ&#x2018;̸ Ä&#x153;ƣȜźČ&#x2039;ČśČ&#x201A;̸ Ă&#x153; ĹşĹ&#x203A;źȜŠĆ&#x2018; Â?Ĺ´tŠ̸Č&#x2039; Ç&#x2122;Ć&#x2018;Ä&#x153;Č&#x2039;Č&#x2039; Č&#x201A;ŠÄ&#x201A;źŠȜźƜƣÇ&#x; Ă&#x153; WƜƣŴĆ&#x153;Ä&#x153;Č&#x201A;Ă?É&#x201D;Č&#x201A;̸ /ĹşĆ&#x2018;Ć&#x2018;źƣĹ&#x203A; Ă&#x153;  Ä&#x153;Ä&#x153;Ȝů Â&#x2DC;ůźȜÄ&#x153;ƣźƣĹ&#x203A;Ă&#x153; Č&#x201A;Ɯ̹ƣČ&#x2039;Ăť Č&#x201A;ĹşÄ&#x201A;Ĺ&#x203A;Ä&#x153;Č&#x2039; ¡ Â&#x2014;Ä&#x153;ĆŁÄ&#x153;Ä&#x153;Č&#x201A;Č&#x2039;

She said the process so far has been trial and error. She realized quickly that two posts a day is too much for right now, so sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at one for the time being. Fischer also said that she had to hone in on her audience even more. She was focusing on women over 60, too, but she noticed that they are also at different places in life.

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Fischer said she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think a lot of women know where to find health tips for them; and for some women, it may not even be on their mind. She said she wants to focus on preprevention, meaning she wants to reach women before there is potential for an issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we get to a certain age we need to pay attention and things change,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know I can help - I want to give them anything to help them feel good that day.â&#x20AC;?

Fischer also works at a local gym. She says if she is not at home working on Robby Gene, she is at the gym working with other women to help with their mental and physical health.

Robby Gene is named after Fischerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Robert Eugene. Her blog features six topics right now: Mind, Body, Home (featuring decor and organic ways to keep it clean), Self (beauty, care, and life tips) YUM (featuring clean eating) and a Shop tab.

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She hopes her blog will keep growing and plans to collaborate with different designers, writers etc. in the future. Fischer said that everything she has experienced has taught her that life is short and you need to do what makes you happy. She said her goal is to pass that on to other women and help them realize they still have things they can show off.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to show women the things they can start doing to feel really good,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Fischer said she has noticed a difference in herself as well since she started the blog.

She said she feels better because she is doing something that makes a difference. She learns new things everyday too - things she reads from research for her posts, to realizing she has a strong creative side.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;It comes down to loving yourself, women need to go easier on themselves,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Live the life youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re supposed to have.â&#x20AC;?

Visit www.robbygene.com for more information.

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ũƖ ZĜť~ťõĔä `~ĵŗ t 'ųąą ?ÁĔų ¼Ű `~¤Ĝ `ųÁŗ´~Ƌŗ ąą tĜų ~Ĕ ~ť Zõ ŗ pÁ´ĔÁŗ´~Ƌŗ pÁÁăÁĔ´ \ĵÁ¤õ~ąŗ The air is crisp, and you can almost smell the Thanksgiving turkey cooking as gold and red leaves carpet the ground in the west metro. Yes, the holidays are coming – so why not celebrate the kick-off of the season with an oldfashioned tree-lighting ceremony?

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That’s the reasoning behind Waconia’s revamped tree-lighting ceremony in City Square Park. Now in its fourth year, the event has once again grown into a real holiday tradition.

“It used to be a pretty big ordeal – the tree lighting. Like 15 to 20 years ago, there was a play that was put on, and it was a huge production,” said Summer Jensen, owner of The Stash and a driving force behind the ceremony.

“All those old traditions seemed to start kind of going away. So, I was like, ‘Let’s bring back this tree lighting.’”

Jensen said that since the relaunching of the ceremony, attendance has grown every year.

“I would say the first year, we had maybe 100 people and we were ecstatic about that,” Jensen said. “Last year, we served 750 cups of hot cocoa.”

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The ceremony features a bevy of holiday staples â&#x20AC;&#x201C; everything from reindeer (llamas in disguise) to beloved holiday characters like The Grinch and Buddy Elf to hot cocoa and bonfires to warm visitors inside and out. The event also serves as a toy drive for the Waconia Fire Department. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It just gives toys to local residents â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 110 school district residents â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is huge,â&#x20AC;?

Jensen said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you donate to Toys for Tots, it goes everywhere.â&#x20AC;?

Jensen said that this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s display should be the most spectacular yet, with $2,000 worth of lighting adorning the maple tree behind the gazebo in City Square Park.

That massive amount of lighting is all due to the generosity of the local community.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dave Christopherson of Waconia Greens is going to donate $1,000 worth of tree lighting. So, we are going to have one tree that is going to be cool,â&#x20AC;? Jensen said. In addition, The Stash and Allstate Insurance are picking up the tab for another $1,000 in lighting.

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In all, white lights will stretch up and down Main Street, with many businesses getting in on the holiday cheer. Jensen said that all the lights will be flipped on at once.

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While the festivities start at around 6:30 p.m. on Black Friday, Jensen was coy about when the lights will come on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We turn on the lights once weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve spread enough holiday cheer,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Given that the ceremony is slated for Black Friday â&#x20AC;&#x201C; traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its not unusual that local businesses are banding together to draw consumers to town.

Jensen said that several businesses are participating in a Black Friday â&#x20AC;&#x153;Blackoutâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; meaning that many shops in Waconia

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â&#x20AC;? wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t open until noon. Jensen said the aim is to let local residents and out of town visitors hit up the big sales in the cities and suburbs and encourage them to wrap up the day in Waconia. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Go the big box stores at 5 a.m., shop, come back and enjoy the evening,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Come later with your family, enjoy the small, quaint shops, relax, get out of the craziness and go to an old-fashioned tree lighting with the kids.â&#x20AC;?

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Jensen hopes that ceremony can help bring the community together in the spirit of the holidays â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not unlike the final scene in â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Charlie Brown Christmas.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want it to be corny, and quirky â&#x20AC;&#x201C; like how we dress the llamas up as reindeer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that was the whole thing,â&#x20AC;? Jensen said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meant to be old-fashioned â&#x20AC;&#x201C; come together and sing in the park for an hour and celebrate the lights turning on.â&#x20AC;?

Waconiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tree-lighting is slated for Friday, Nov. 24, and festivities start at 6:30 p.m.

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One late night about three years ago, two friends sat in a violin studio. They shared two bottles of rum and talked the night away about life and the things they loved - like wood-making, rum and each other.

One was a luthier and the other a serial entrepreneur.

With glasses in hand, they wondered why there was no good rum in the world. Then they decided they could make some themselves. They said it’ll be the best rum anyone would ever have. The two asked how do you start? The answer was easy for them, you start in the same place a good spirit starts - the barrel. story and photos by hannah broadbent

OVER A BARREL

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To make a good spirit, you need to make the perfect barrel to put it in.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when they knew they would do both - run a cooperage, and, later, a rum distillery.

Thus began Atlas Barrel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more we drank the smarter we got,â&#x20AC;? said co-founder and serial entrepreneur, Carl David.

Greg Sumners, a Minnesota native luthier, began taking barrels apart that night to see how they were made.

Sumners primarily makes cellos with the occasional violin. He said he started crafting wooden instruments because his daughter wanted to play the violin.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought, well I can make one myself,â&#x20AC;? Sumners said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cello-making skills transferred pretty easily into barrels - itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a lot of math.â&#x20AC;?

David credits Sumners with the willingness to learn. He said it can be hard work, because every barrel has to be perfectly made. It has to be watertight with no warping in the wood, and any imperfections show right after heating. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had no experience with barrels,â&#x20AC;?

David said with a laugh.

Sumners said understanding what happens to the wood is the most important thing. He works a lot with heat and metal. Sumners said coopering is a 2,000 year-old industry, so the technique is out there. Coopers are any facility that make barrels, buckets and casks out of wood and steel rings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dreams donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t become a reality because people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take the first step,â&#x20AC;?

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First they were based in St. Louis Park.

Sumners and David said they quickly realized they needed more space, and moved to a warehouse in Watertown.

David says the business is a very resource-intensive trade. They need room for barrels, wood planks and space to char and toast their barrels.

David said in October, the yard of the warehouse will be filled with 200 palettes of Minnesota oak. He said thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about enough to last through the winter. According to their website, the combination of a Minnesota winter and Minnesota white oak are the perfect combination to make the perfect barrel.

David and Sumners said the fact that they sell exclusively Minnesota oak barrels is only one element that separates them from the two other cooperages in the state: Black Swan Cooperage LLC. (Park Rapids) and The Barrel Mill (Avon). â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are ambassadors to Minnesota oak, we meet the demand of local distilleries,â&#x20AC;? Sumners said.

They said those two cooperages use different combination of wood, which will develop different tastes. Black Swan and The Barrel Mill also only make larger barrels, primarily for wine. Atlas barrel specializes in 23 gallon barrels.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not only does the flavor start with the barrel - but the color too,â&#x20AC;? Sumners said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All color you see in spirits come from the barrel.â&#x20AC;?

The two said they provide coopers for almost all the breweries in the state, with the exception of one or two.

Sumners said their clients are always their biggest priority. The thing they are most proud of is their ability to specialize their product for each client. That primarily happens in the toasting and charring portion of barrel making.

Toasting is a lighter burning or heating of the wood, with the purpose of releasing tannins in the woods to give it flavor.

Charring would take that a step further to an almost burning of inside the barrel which would look black after a char ideal for bourbon or whiskey.

“We are very much a family business, we treat our clients like that too,” David said. “Our philosophy is we are partners with our distilleries - we want to grow with them.”

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The employees of Atlas Barrel have been with them from the beginning as well. Production manager Yuri Gallardo has been an employee of Sumner’s for years. The moment Sumners started making barrels - he knew he had to join.

“I’ve always wanted to learn to make barrels, this is something I was born to do - I really, really love it,” Gallardo said.

Sumners said Gallardo’s job is to maintain quality and to make sure they are making the barrels they are supposed to be making for each client. He said Gallardo may have the hardest job, saying it’s difficult to make barrels over and over again without leaking. Sumners says consistency is their number one focus for their barrels.

“I know for a fact I have the hardest job,” Gallardo said laughing. “Sometimes I lay in bed excited, thinking about what we can do tomorrow.”

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If a barrel gets ruined, Gallardo and Sumners have mastered the art of wasting nothing.

Atlas Barrel also builds furniture.

“When the fire goes through the barrel - it turns into a table,” Sumners said laughing.

Sumners said together they have created testing procedures to help sustain high pressure tests. Gallardo said his favorite part of the company is the innovation.

“We are always looking for something new to do and to make it better,” Gallardo said.

They said they highly encourage visits to the warehouse. They said it’s easiest to pick a barrel in person because the smell of a barrel pairs with the taste of a spirit. Sumners and David call themselves the masters of direction and say that is what they will continue to do.

WESTMETROSCENE.COM

| NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 | 15

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red ROOSTER REDROOSTERLL.COM LOCATED IN WAYZATA

The Red Rooster in Long Lake offers a fun and family environment to make game day a fun outing for the whole family. The Red Rooster offers a full menu, including breakfast, which is served from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to noon on Sundays. The restaurant also offers a full bar, with a variety of beers on tap and ready to fill a frosty pint.

Most importantly for game day, the Red Rooster offers plenty of screens around the restaurant to pull up a chair and cheer on your favorite team.

The restaurant also offers a variety of game day food and drink specials, but what really sets the Red Rooster apart from other game days spots, is its game day punch card. If you spend 10 or more game days at the Red Rooster, you have the chance to be entered into a drawing for a weekend casino trip.

18 | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 | WESTMETROSCENE.COM

surfside BAR & GRILL SURFSIDEBARANDGRILL.COM LOCATED IN MOUND

One of the newer additions to the west metro, Surfside Bar & Grill hit the ground running when it opened its doors in April 2016. The restaurant offers a full menu, which includes game day food staples like burgers and wings, and some non-traditional sandwiches and flatbreads, as well as a full bar. The bar and grill offers no shortage of places to view the game, with TVs and projectors all around the restaurant. To celebrate Vikings football, Surfside offers a variety of specials on game days, including some freebies whenever the Vikings score and much more. To keep up to date on Surfside’s game day specials, check out their Facebook page.

WESTMETROSCENE.COM

| NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 | 19

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the SUBURBAN THESUBURBANMN.COM LOCATED IN EXCELSIOR

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The Suburban is where game day takes center stage. With sports memorabilia and murals lining the walls of the restaurant, you know youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the right place to catch the game. The suburban also offers a variety of game day eats from burgers to pizza and much more, all made with the freshest of ingredients. The menu also offers a few non-traditional twists on some traditional game day eats, like specialty pizzas and unconventional burger toppings.

Along with TVs all around the restaurant and bar, The Suburban also offers an all-day happy hour every Sunday that features $3 rail drinks, $4 craft and import beers, $5 chips and salsa and much more.

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FOCUSED ON LIFE AND LEISURE, STYLES AND TRENDS IN THE TWIN CITIES’ WEST METRO, IT’S

THE MAGAZINE FOR YOUR LIFESTYLE THE MAGAZINE FO R YO UR LIF ES TY LE

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