From a Song to a Storefront: Kirk's Café Brings Venture North's Spirit Back to Life
There's a particular kind of magic that happens when a neighborhood gets to write its own next chapter. On Glenwood Avenue, that chapter is starting with coffee, music, and a name that means something.
Northside Funders Group is proud to announce a grant award to Kirk's Café, a new neighborhood coffee shop and cultural gathering space opening at 1830 Glenwood Avenue, a site that has been quietly waiting for its second act.
A Site With a Story
If you've been in the Northside community for a while, you might remember this address as the former home of Venture North Bike/Walk/Coffee, a beloved project of the faith-based Redeemer Center for Life (RCFL). For years, Venture North was more than a coffee shop. It was a community hub built around movement, connection, and care for the neighborhood.
When it closed, the building sat vacant. But the spirit behind it never really left… it just waited for the right people to pick it back up.
Those people are Denetrick Powers and Louis Tillman, the developers and co-owners behind Kirk's Café. And Powers' current connection to this site isn't a coincidence, it's foundational. A longtime Northside resident and RCFL member, Powers was part of the very group of peers who wrote a song called "People on Bikes," which helped inspire RCFL to open Venture North in the first place.
Now, more than a decade later, Powers is back at the same address, turning a long-closed nonprofit space into a community-owned, neighborhood-serving business that carries the same DNA forward.
Honoring Kirk Washington
Kirk Washington
The café's name is not just a name -- it's a tribute. Kirk's Café is dedicated to Kirk Washington, a respected Northside activist whose work helped shape the community this business now calls home. Naming the gathering space in his honor is Powers' way of making sure the café carries forward not just a building's history, but a person's legacy and community activism that can take many shapes.
"Being neighbors to Kirk and his family helped shape how I define community,’ Denetrick says. “Their door was always open, and they made it a thing to make sure you had what you needed to be comfortable and feel seen. I want the café to embody the same spirit that I experienced at Kirk and Aster’s home. One filled with love, compassion, and creativity. Kirk would have wanted me to name it ‘Aster’s Café,’ but one of those exists.”
What's Brewing: Kirk's Café, Phase 1
When Kirk's Café opens its doors in fall 2026, neighbors can expect a warm, welcoming space built for both quick stops and slow mornings. Phase 1 offerings include:
Specialty coffee and beverages
Prepared and pre-packaged food — sandwiches, salads, soups, oatmeal, baked goods, and popcorn
Arts and cultural programming, with an emphasis on music and global community-building
Alcoholic beverages (pending license approval), bringing an early-evening social atmosphere in the tradition of small jazz cafés around the world
Beyond what's on the menu, Kirk's Café will also bring new local jobs to the corridor, another key way this investment circulates directly back into the neighborhood it serves.
Why This Investment, Why Now
While this is our most recent investment, it is not the only one. Northside Funders Group has supported Kirk's Café at two of the most critical moments in the project's life.
The first investment came early, in pre-development—often understood as the riskiest stage of any project, when feasibility is still being tested and the capital stack isn't fully in place. The second came as the project moved into construction and began preparing for launch. Both investments were modest in size, but timed to be catalytic: made at the moments when a vote of confidence could actually move the project forward and help attract the additional investment needed to get it across the finish line.
This project also aligns with NFG's broader work in the corridor. NFG has played an active leadership role on the Anti-Displacement Community Prosperity Program Board, a body created specifically to mitigate and prevent displacement as the Metro Blue Line light rail extension reshapes the neighborhood. Supporting locally rooted, community-owned businesses like Kirk's Café is one of the clearest ways to make sure that as transit investment brings new attention and activity to the Northside, the people who built this community's culture are the ones who benefit from it, not the ones priced out of it.
“I’m proud of our members for continuing to see the potential of North Minneapolis through their time and investment in projects like this one. We may be small, but we understand the value of flexible, rapidly deployed capital in navigating the challenges of real estate development. NFG members can’t wait to celebrate another win for North Minneapolis at the grand opening this fall.”
Northside Funders Group is committed to investing in community-led, community-owned development across the Northside neighborhood. Contact E. Coco at ecococonsulting@outlook.com to learn more about how YOU can join the Northside Funders Group.