mpls: Rex Hardware closes, Lyndale Avenue will never be the same

My favorite hardware store in the world, including the Crafty Beaver in Chicago, was Rex Hardware on Lyndale and 26th St. It had the best window displays and blue-on-yellow hand-painted signage. The Southwest Journal said that the ownder, Anne Shom, is selling it so that she can retire.

Some good news though.

The shop will continue to be a hardware store for a while after Shom has retired, according to new owner Lynn Gordon, who also owns the nearby French Meadow Bakery & Cafe.
...
She purchased the Rex Hardware building and a house next to it. She said it would continue to be a hardware store, until she makes another decision about what kind of business to open there.

Gordon had envisioned putting n organic home store -- with organic mattresses and other home goods -- but now is considering renting it to someone else.

Gordon said she would only consider renting the space to someone with a vision for a community-based business.

In a related note, La Parisien Flats, the small-ish condo at 23rd and Lyndale, was approved. According to the SWJ, "the building will feature French-inspired details such as a vaulted ceiling, peaked roof and a sidewalk cafe." I want to laugh, but I know I shouldn't.

P.S. The Dallas apartment where G.W. Bush (and his future wife, Laura) lived while dodging Vietnam in the 70's was called "Chateau Dijon."