Tapping In on the Lowry Avenue Corridor
For 15 years, a dilapidated SuperAmerica sat empty at the corner of Lowry and Upton in North Minneapolis. Now, when night falls, magenta and electric blue light spill through the garage doors onto the sidewalk — transforming an abandoned site into one of the more vibrant and recognizable stretches of Lowry after sundown.
Two years ago, Christopher Webley built TAP IN Kitchen and Cocktails— a full-service restaurant and craft cocktail bar with a scratch kitchen. Now, with the continued support of Northside Funders Group (NFG), Webley is expanding his vision and his business into somewhere people stay, not just someplace they stop.
“The work NFG is doing is truly vital to reshaping how Black and Brown developers gain access to the capital needed to lead redevelopment efforts across the Northside," Webley says. “[That investment] has opened doors that might not otherwise have been possible, empowering developers like us to create lasting change in our own communities.”
TAP IN isn’t Webley’s only venture. He also runs the New Rules event space down the block and recently completed a full redevelopment of the Historic Bell Lofts. But he recognized a sad and persistent truth: sit-down restaurants are still hard to find on the Northside. Not because people here don't want them, but because that kind of investment has tended to land everywhere but here.
The North Side has never lacked culture, creativity, or a dynamic entrepreneurial spirit. What has been missing is investment that is designed and activated on the ground in a way that lifts and harnesses these assets to strengthen its vitality and vibrancy. Northside Funders Group has backed Webley's vision for TAP IN from early on, providing the kind of flexible capital that's historically been hard to come by for local developers on this corridor.
In just a few years, Webley has turned TAP IN into a popular Northside hang-out. With a room designed to feel like an adobe-style home in the high desert of New Mexico, the menu pulls from Jamaican heritage, Southern roots, and flavors from around the world. A DJ residency program gives a rotating lineup of local talent a regular booth to build a following, turning weekend dinner service into something closer to a “loungy” night out. Culinary offerings have kept evolving too, like the new wagyu beef sliders added to the menu in celebration of its second anniversary. And for anyone looking to mark a birthday, a reunion, or a reason to get the people they love in one room, the space is available for private events.
The dynamic vibe has spurred physical growth, too. In recent months, TAP IN has started improvements to the existing site — adding green space, a water feature and pergola, outdoor seating, and a fire pit for the long Minnesota evenings when nobody's ready to go back inside. But that’s just the first step. Northside Funders Group recently approved a grant to help with the next piece.
This acquisition will expand on-site parking to as many as 25 stalls and space for additional dreaming (stay tuned to TAP IN on Instagram). Sure, additional parking doesn’t typically make headlines but, on a corridor like Lowry where street parking is limited, it's not a small thing either.
Like other projects across the Northside, NFG doesn't see our role as tapping in once and moving on. Instead, we stay engaged, because long-term success and sustainability take more than a single check. NFG is now in its sixth year of providing flexible dollars for acquisition, pre-development, and working capital, aimed at local developers and small business owners. We want to see an economic engine running on Lowry. We just don't want that engine pushing out, or pricing out the people who already call this neighborhood home. That's why ownership matters as much as access and opportunity, a way to hold a real stake in the community.
“Without NFG’s continued support and partnership, our growth simply would not have been possible,” Webley says. “We’re deeply grateful for NFG’s commitment to making this kind of community-led transformation possible.”
So, who’s ready to "tap in" next? It’s not just a question for funders or lenders like NFG, but anyone who's watched Lowry get overlooked and wondered what it would take to change that. Set up your next business lunch at TAP IN, grab your Saturday night cocktail and enjoy some beats with your besties. It's up to all of us.
Northside Funders Group is committed to investing in community-led, community-owned development across Northside neighborhoods. Contact E. Coco at ecococonsulting@outlook.com to learn more about how YOU can join the Northside Funders Group.