The new downtown (nordeast) Lunds is open, has been for some time. It was intended to fill the need for some sort of grocery store for all the wealthy empty-nesters who are allegedly buying the lofts and condos springing up like weeds along the Mississippi corridor.
We don't normally get too excited about conventional grocery store chains around here -- organic produce, hello?!-- but this Lund's is exceptional in one respect: It's a cutting-edge hybrid of a restaurant and a grocer.
On the south side of the store, there are a half dozen deli cases and steam tables that stock everything a harried workerbee at lunch could ever want, from pineapple chunks, artisanal cheeses, and sandwiches to soups and salad bars. There are even take-and-bake lasagnas and TV dinners (handmade in Lunds/Byerly's kitchens, pretty yummy). But our favorite is the steam table dedicated entirely to "Comfort Food," featuring mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, ribs, corn dogs, tortellini, and a dozen other American classics. This is all ingeniously offered under one, easy-to-remember, slightly horrifying pricing structure: $7 per pound.
Lunds and Byerly's, http://www.lundsandbyerlys.com, 25 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis
