The old Grain Belt Brewery office has been remodeled to create an event venue for weddings, conventions and other public and private functions. The two-story building at 1215 Marshall Street, across from the main brewery building, has been largely empty since the beer company ceased production here in 1975. The buildings went on the National Register of Historical Places in 1990.
Last year, the Entourage Events Group, which includes several catering and event production companies, began work on the 25,000-square-foot space after getting a green light from the City’s Heritage Preservation Commission. Working with consulting architects Hess, Roise and Company and a half-million-dollar budget, Entourage has created spaces and services for meetings and conferences, including several private dining rooms and couples’ suites.
Entourage’s CEO Steve Hark said people in Northeast Minneapolis should be proud that the structure has been brought back into use, adding, “I think any underutilized, hidden structure like this one can only be advantageous to the neighborhood when it becomes being frequented by a lot of social events and guests from out of the city or out of the state.”
He expects the project will result in around 40 jobs. Entourage Events Group also operates other venues, including the Armory, First Avenue,The Fine Line, Brave New Workshop and the Turf Club.
The building is now called “The 1893 at the Historic Grain Belt Office,” named for the year of the building’s original completion. The official opening will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 23.
Left and center, the main floor and an interior corridor in a new event venue in the old Grain Belt Brewery office at 1215 Marshall Street NE. (Photos by Mark Peterson The rehabbed space is a project of the Entourage Events Group. Right, exterior sign at Grain Belt 1893. (Provided photo)
