Photo by Lissa Maki
With its rugged terrain and sometimes unforgiving climate, Lake Superior’s north shore seems like an unlikely place for a winery. But that didn’t deter wine connoisseurs Chuck and Kim Corliss from founding North Shore Winery near the base of Lutsen Mountains in 2015.
Business North is reporting, via Finance & Commerce, the Paulucci Building at 525 S. Lake Ave. in Canal Park was sold in November for $6 million.
The buyer: Star PB LLC
The seller: Etor Properties LLC
The story notes that “in a second related transaction, Star PB LLC paid $1 million to Buckeye Corp., another private investment entity, for a 16,000-square-foot retail and office building next door, at 501 Lake Ave. S.”
The Paulucci Building is named for the late Duluth businessman Jeno Paulucci. It was built in 1915 by Gowan-Lenning-Brown, a wholesale grocery firm. The neighboring structure was built in 1909 as the Buckeye Building for National Biscuit.
Vikre Distillery is the most prominent business operating out of the two buildings.
Vikre Distillery took first place in a USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice award for best craft specialty spirits, beating out major players like St. George Spirits and Koval Distillery.
Joel and Emily Vikre founded the craft distillery in 2012 and started selling gin and aquavit to the public in 2014. With traditional distilling methods, Lake Superior water and the inventive use of local botanicals foraged in the Northwoods, Vikre is creating unparalleled products.
The March issue of Details magazine ranks American-made gins in an article titled “The American Gin Renaissance.” Duluth’s Vikre Distillery took fourth place for its Boreal Cedar Gin.
4. Vikre Distillery Boreal Cedar Gin
Duluth, Minnesota
The Gin: Smoky, thanks to red cedar.
Fun Fact: “I developed the Cedar specifically to make my perfect Negroni,” says cofounder Emily Vikre.
The Appeal: For fermentation and proofing, Vikre uses purified Lake Superior water, which is soft and devoid of (taste-altering) minerals. $30
There’s an online version of the article with the more click-baitish title, “10 American-made gins that are too damn good to pass up.”
Another recent honor: Vikre’s Ovrevann Aquavit won a bronze medal in the DSS category at the American Craft Spirits Association’s Distillers Convention & Vender Trade Show in mid-February. (Through exhaustive research — you know, like ten minutes worth — PDD is now able to update this report to clarify that DSS stands for Distilled Spirits, Specialty.)
The Rustic Olive, an olive oil and balsamic vinegar bar, opened in the Paulucci Building on Dec. 8. The store doesn’t have a sign or a website, but both are coming soon. There is a Facebook page, though. The owners are Tom and Tami Thoma. They have another store in Wisconsin.
Emily and Joel Vikre are planning to open a distillery next to the Rustic Olive. What kind of “spirits” will be distilled is left vague on the Vikre Distillery website, but bourbon and gin are the words on the street. Apparently the state legislature has work to do before Vikre is allowed to offer samples.
One block away, Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe is apparently looking to add a few intoxicating beverages to its offerings. Next week’s Duluth City Council meeting agenda includes a resolution “approving the issuance of an on sale wine license and issuing a 3.2 percent malt liquor license.”
Of course, we are morally obligated to remind you that Canal Park remains a Skateboarders GTFO area.
