Brace yourselves!
It's Grandma's Marathon weekend.
The weekend when the population of Duluth quadruples or quintuples (or something like that) and the place where it is most apparent is in Canal Park.
This 5 Things™ post is all about what to expect if you're planning an excursion to the area this weekend.
Saturday of Grandma's weekend is a historically chill day at NWS. I could list all of the reasons that I think factor into this, but the bottom line is that marathon Saturday is a great time to stop in for a weekend Smokehaus lunch. I can't promise there won't be a line, but it is typically much shorter wait on race day. That is, unless everyone reads this blog and gets the same idea. I can promise we'll have our full beer and wine selection, and at least 90% of our sandwich menu, available.
We are shutting down delivery on Saturday. Between the vehicle- and foot-traffic, the parking spots that fill up as soon as a car leaves them, and the five-billion (or so) extra people in town who might pass through our doors, it isn't a weekend conducive with delivery. We do our best to double-down and provide top-notch service from our DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace headquarters.
With that said—
There is a way to bypass our line (regardless of length) on this hectic weekend, and that is to place a pick-up order. Call us at (218)724-7307 (ext. 1) or place an order online—through our website, under the "Local Delivery" then "Order Online" tabs, or the ChowNow app.
When you show up, you have our permission to enter through the door with the big, red "Exit" sign hanging above it, and let an available employee know that you're here to pick up "[your name here]'s order" of "[whatever it is you ordered]." If it isn't already waiting behind out sandwich line, we'll make a quick call downstairs to run it up.
If you're not running in—or affiliated with anyone running in—the race, you may feel like avoiding the rigmarole altogether, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Making your way down to Canal Park can be a totally pleasant experience, so long as you know that parking will be a challenge. Grandma's takes over one parking lot with their tents, and Lake Avenue Café has tents set up in the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace parking lot. There are a number of paid parking lots, around Canal Park and downtown, and metered spots on South Lake Ave. Here's the marathon's route map:
Download or keep a tab open of that map here.
There's two big concerts going on in the area. This is my favorite reason to head down to Canal Park during marathon weekend.
The line-up for the Grandma's tent is available here.
Our neighbors at Lake Avenue Café also put on a great weekend of entertainment, food and drink. Check out this line-up:
It's like a who's-who of Twin Ports music, with some exceptional out-of-towners rounding out the nights. If you haven't heard them or seen them live, GGOOLLDD is a band that has some great tunes and puts on an excellent show.
That just about covers the five Things™ I wanted to discuss with you. Wherever you may be this weekend, whatever you may be doing, I hope you stay safe and hydrated. If you're in the Canal Park area, be patient with your fellow humans and plan ahead—giving yourself that extra fifteen-to-thirty minutes can make a huge difference in finding a parking spot and avoiding unwanted stress.