When the original Penny's Coffee opened in downtown Minneapolis, it looked to me like a cross between Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This, I like about them. They're not afraid to bring something different, something that can be local without screaming flannel and state maps at you.
They've opened their second shop in Linden Hills, off of 44th just across from Turtle Bread, and it has it's own vibe. The L-shaped building was once an old auto-shop (remember it was one time slated to be the next iteration of Bin Wine Bar after that closed in St. Paul?) and there are some pretty good bones, solid brick walls, and industrial nods, but it's clear this is balanced to be more of a neighborhood joint.
The design is clean and there's some great varied seating, huge garage doors that open to the world, and the space manages to be both airy and cozy at the same time.
Oh, and that hole in the floor? Owner Ben Hertz happened to be there this morning when I popped by and he told me, "I want to put a ping-pong table down there! I think we'll put a jar with ping-pong balls by the register and you can buy one to play with and we'll just donate it all to a non-profit each month." Do it.
The indoor/outdoor bar seating at the front was perfect this morning, check out those adorbs humans photo-bombing my crepe. The place was loaded with all sorts: kids, parents, laptoppers, business meeters, dog walkers you name it. The adjacent space (the other hitch on the L) is being finished, Herz thinks he might use it as some sort of communal working space, but they're still working that out.
The coffee is lovely, from La Colombe out of Philly. As for the food, the menu is still in progress, but it looks to be larger and more lunch focused than the downtown location. There are more sandwich offerings (please hold on that BLT situation), along with some salads, and organic Blue Marble soft serve! Of course there are still the crepes, which has drawn many to their original spot. I can say the Gruyere with Black Forest ham crepe is, for us savory sorts, worth more than ten trendy donuts. And, if you need it on the fly, it comes in a car-worthy snack cone. Go check them out, they open daily at 6am!
