Lexington April

NEW COFFEE SHOP: Grounds for cheer

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GLOW lights festival at the State Fairgrounds. Rather than putting the equipment in storage, he offered to support the startup.

“I try to do my best in business to be a connector, and sometimes it works out that I get to be a part of that,” Atkinson said. “They have a solid community over at Evolve, and The Anchor Coffee House is all about helping communities to connect and grow in relationships.

Chris is passionate about coffee, which made it easy for myself and business partner John Renaker of Northwoods Roasterie to help create a coffee blend and profile that matched the culture Chris has built at his gym.”

And so, Incite Brew Lab was born. “Incite is more or less learning about the process and just diving into it,” Raaymakers said. “I could have easily called it a coffee shop, but a brew lab to me speaks volumes to the process and having the attention more toward the quality of the coffee, rather than just me serving you caffeine.”

Incite Brew Lab will be a specialty coffee shop, and with that comes a higher price tag. Raaymakers explained that whereas you can find a bag of coffee at a retail store for $8-9, a bag of Incite Brew Lab coffee will be closer to $14-16.

Incite will get its beans from Northwoods Roasterie in Lindstrom, Minnesota. Raaymakers has been very involved in the process of coming up with the different blends, which include War Panda, Gorilla King, Tree in a Pot and more.

“Our main goal is to make sure that every cup of coffee that you get here is fresh roasted. It will be all about the process of making a good cup of coffee,” Raaymakers said, adding that a good cup of coffee needs to consumed three to 14 days after the beans are roasted.

“You will get your caffeine, but you will also taste the notes of berry, chocolate and hazelnut. You can put hazelnut syrup in it and it will taste like hazelnut, but this coffee is going be grown it a way where you are going to be able to taste those flavors naturally rather than artificially,” he said.

Incite Brew Lab will be far from a quiet coffee shop. In fact, it might be a bit loud. Raaymakers explained that customers should expect loud music. Crossfit classes will likely be running while the coffee shop is open.

“It is not going to be a place where you are going to be able to think and concentrate. You are going to see people lifting weights and getting their fitness on,” he said. “I want it to be a hangout place, a place where people can come and hang out and chill.”

Raaymakers is hoping to officially open the doors to the coffee side of the business within the next month or two. For more information, visit incitebrewlab.com.

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SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS SHANNONGRANHOLM|PRESSPUBLICATIONS

The 6,000 square-foot gym in Lino Lakes has about 2,000 square-feet of hangout space that can be utilized for the new coff ee shop. One of Incite Brew Lab’s blends will be War Panda.

Lead Editor Shannon Granholm can be reached at 651-407-1227 or quadnews@presspubs.com.

LEXINGTON SNIPPETS

• Residents along Woodland Road and Ryan Place will have to deal with some road work this summer. The City Council recently approved the plans and specifications and ordered the advertisement for bids for the 2021 overlay project. The improvements, which include patching, edge milling and bituminous overlay, will take place on Woodland Road (between Lake Drive and Hamline Avenue) and Ryan Place (from Woodland Road to the north end).

The project is estimated to cost $313,000. The benefiting property owners will be responsible for 30% of the project costs via assessments. City Engineer Steve Winter, of MSA Professional Services Inc., explained that the improvements will extend the life expectancy of the roadways for another 15 to 20 years before full reconstruction is needed.

The council held a public hearing for the project April 1 and only one resident asked a few clarifying questions. The project is expected to be complete by the end of August, and an assessment hearing will be held in October. Residents will need to make their first payment in May 2022, if they don’t prepay some or all of the assessment.

The council has also approved advertisement for bids for a project at Memorial Park, which will include driveway improvements and the addition of parking stalls by the hockey rink and outfield. • Lexington Fire Chief Gary Grote presented the 2020 annual report April 1. See full story on page 5. • Over the next couple of months, city staff will work to negotiate a labor agreement with the union that represents City Hall and public works employees. • Lexington’s spring cleanup event will be held from Saturday, April 17 from 8 a.m. to noon at Together Place Church, located at 3860 Flowerfield Road, Circle Pines. • The City Council has decided on the colors of white and blue for the new salt shed. “This will definitely save a lot of time for public works. Every time they have to load up, they have to go to Circle Pines,” City Administrator Petracek explained. • Liquor Store Manager Jack Borgen has been given the OK from council to upgrade the store’s point-of-sale software system, available for $19,704 from Total Register Systems. “We have had issues on and off with our (current) system,” Borgen said. “It culminated with us not being able to process transactions for 15 minutes the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I had 20 customers in the store, and I had to go out and apologize and try to explain what was going on.” • The city now has an official job description for the fire marshal position, which is currently filled by Assistant Fire Chief Mark Vanderbloomer. • City Heat Charities has been given the green light for a temporary business license to sell Minnesotasafe fireworks. Bill Kenow, president of City Heat Charities, applied for a special event permit for the annual motorcycle ride June 6. According to the application, around 140 people are expected to attend the event. • The City Council tabled the license/ special event permit at its March 18 meeting because there were a lot of unanswered questions, which have since been answered. No roadways will need to be closed down, and the gambling permit is needed for a raffle. • Graffiti on the playground equipment at Lexington City Park (formerly Tot Park) has been taken care of, Petracek said at the April 1 council meeting. He explained that the city found a solvent that removed the graffiti, which they will have ready if vandals strike again. • Lexington Fire & Rescue Auxiliary had to end its 501(c)(3) status due to challenges faced by the pandemic. The Lions plan to take over the farmers market this summer.

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The City Council has approved the purchase of a salt storage shed. The 46-by-48 foot shed from Greystone Construction Company will be mostly white, with blue accents.

Shannon Granholm

Age Group 3-5 Thank youQuinn B.