One year ago next Tuesday, downtown Grand Marais was forever changed. A devastating fire destroyed three businesses located inside three historic buildings. Since then, Grand Marais has been the home of a clean-up and changes for the businesses affected. One year later, we reflect back at what has become of downtown Grand Marais.
The Fire
It was Monday, April 13, 2020. The town of Grand Marais was several weeks into Stay at Home orders due to COVID-19. The downtown area was mostly empty. It was also the day after Easter, a holiday many had observed by picking up Easter Dinner from The Crooked Spoon Cafe located at 17 W Wisconsin Street. Little did the owners and staff of The Crooked Spoon know, this would be the last meal they’d serve in the restaurant. High winds combined with sparks from somewhere behind The Crooked Spoon Cafe started a fire around 1:30 PM. The fire caused the building to ignite and it burned quickly.
By 2 PM that afternoon, the Grand Marais Fire Department had been joined by the Maple Hill, Colvill, and Lutsen Fire Departments. The fire had spread to the roof of Picnic & Pine located next door to the Crooked Spoon Cafe. Firefighters fought hard to save the neighboring building throughout the afternoon. By 4 PM the call had gone out for an excavator to knock down White Pine North, located on the other side of the Crooked Spoon Cafe. This action prevented the fire from spreading to Sven and Ole’s Pizza and the rest of downtown Grand Marais. By 5 PM the fire was out, but the damage was done.
The Aftermath
Picnic and Pine, The Crooked Spoon Cafe, and White Pine North were gone, along with the three historic buildings that housed them.
The buildings would sit in rubble over the next two months while the Fire Marshal determined the cause of the fire. While no official cause was ever announced, the Fire Marshal determined the cause was accidental. On June 12, clean-up began. Once it started, clean up went fast. Within a day and a half the pile of rubble was gone, replaced by three open lots.
The Crooked Spoon Food Truck
Today, almost one year later, the three buildings are just open lots in Grand Marais’ downtown area. Rebuilding hasn’t started, and may never, but that doesn’t mean all was lost!
In December, we brought you the news that the Crooked Spoon had returned in the form of a food truck. According to their Facebook Page, the owners Sarah and Nate Hingos plan to be open more often soon, serving their delicious meals out of the food truck on their lot.
The Future
As for the rest of the affected businesses, Picnic and Pine has closed permanently and the lot has been sold. White Pine North has continued with an online store selling their Boundary Waters Coffee. The owners purchased Joyne’s Ben Franklin in 2022, just down the street from their original location. Along with the traditional goods found at Joynes, they now sell their Boundary Waters Coffee at the store. Come on in for a sample!
It was announced in late 2024 that the three lots had been sold and a new development would soon be taking shape. But, before that could happen, in April of 2023, almost 3 years to the day after the 2020 fires, Sydney’s Frozen Custard & Wood Fired Pizza burned down. The restaurant temporarily moved to the corner of Wisconsin Street and 1st Ave W. near the now-empty lots. Other food trucks, including The Crooked Spoon, created a little food truck plaza in the area. This will continue in the summer of 2024, but then the lots will clear and make way for a new mixed-use building including a restaurant, event space, and short-term rentals. *Please note that the rendering does not include any creative or decorative elements that will appear on the outside of the building.
Construction is set to begin in the fall of 2024.
Listen to the Exploring the North Shore history episode on the three buildings: