Remembrances of Businesses Past One thing we know about the people of the Twin Cities is that they never quit. Regardless of what happens tomorrow or next year, our community will continue to produce vibrant, creative, meaningful businesses, organizations, institutions—you name it. But 2020 was tough. It’s important to take a moment and pay homage to the places and institutions that didn’t make it. Whether it’s a grimy underground nightclub where you could feel deep kinship, or an unofficial-official newspaper that connects you to a city, or a love story gone cold, or a fabulous burger deal a few blocks from work—when it comes down to it, these places are the building blocks of our lives. One thing we can take from 2020 is that our businesses matter. Not in the way that they generate tax revenue or provide jobs for our
community, though that is very important. Rather, it’s that they play a fundamental role in our lives. They help us through the tough times and let us celebrate the good. They provide for us in a way that friends and family can’t. People say you can’t appreciate what you’ve got until it’s gone, but that might not be true. Maybe by looking back and paying homage to the businesses we lost in 2020, we’ll better appreciate the new crop of meaning-makers that will surely come into our lives in our community’s next chapter. We can hope. We asked six writers from the Twin Cities to reflect on a business that’s meant something to them. Here is what they had to say:
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