Houston White to close Get Down to get ready for bistro

The Get Down will be converted to a restaurant and close at the end of the month. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson

By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter

 You can display your Get Down Coffee Shop merch alongside your old hip hop collectibles. 

 The Camden neighborhood java spot is closing its doors in 20 days. 

 The closure after four years was announced in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal on Sept. 9 in an interview with owner Houston White. He plans to open a restaurant in the space.

 “I want to provide the dopest, most exciting experience on that corner,” he told the magazine. 

 White wants to transform the coffee shop into a bistro called Blue In Green, a nod to a song by Miles Davis. The restaurant will have a wine bar and a coffee program. Details on what that means are unclear. 

 The transformation of the shop, he said, is in alignment with making a gateway into the Houston White brand.

 The bistro will serve hot meals, inspired by a fusion of French and Southern cuisine, and have a grab-and-go station at the front door. There will be a bar and a dining area for 30. Renovations will begin early next month. 

 When asked about the closure, coffee shop staff expressed shock.

 Coffee shop manager, Micheala Newman, said she found out about a week ago, adding that most of the staff had not been told.

 She recently trained three new baristas, who have already started work.

“There’s a lot of excitement but also a lot of sadness associated with it closing down,” Newman told North News. “We’ve built a really strong community here, a lot of regulars, a lot of people we love, and parting with that version and phase of the space is going to be really difficult.

“I’m just hoping that the community receives whatever is next well and it serves the community.”

 White did not make himself immediately available for comment. A longer story for the Sept. 26 edition of North News is being developed.