The Minneapolis Club

The Place for Extraordinary Experiences

Member Profiles

Short Takes: Summer 2019 New Members Kyle Luehmann & Jude Pierce

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We recently caught with two of our Under 30 Members, Kyle Luehmann and Jude Pierce, who joined the Club in summer 2019. Both were introduced to the Club by member Jeff Greiner. Here’s a quick bite of what they had to say, like what they’re looking forward to in 2020, over a happy hour beverage.

Minneapolis Club: How did you become a member of the Minneapolis Club?

Kyle Luehmann: Jeff has been my mentor. Along with a couple of other guys, Jeff was kind enough to host us for an evening out with dinner at the Club followed by a full tour. After a little further investigation into the great amenities provided by the Club such as the Club events, Wellness Center, and Squash program I knew this was a place where I wanted to belong.

Jude Pierce: My friend Jeff reached out to me and spoke very highly of the Minneapolis Club. We set up a weekday lunch and I received a Club tour. The food was delicious, and everyone was very welcoming. I knew right away this is a group I wanted to be a part of.

MC:   What are you looking forward to as a member in 2020?

Kyle:  In 2020 I am looking forward to exploring more of the awesome Club events and fitness classes. I am also excited to continue to meet extraordinary people and enjoy many more delicious meals at the Grill.

Jude:  I’m looking forward to continuing to learn the game of squash and the camaraderie that accompanies the league.

Want to be featured on the Minneapolis Club Blog or in the Connections Magazine? Contact the concierge at concierge@mplsclub.org.

“This Is That Gin”: Club member’s new rarefied spirits reflect nature

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From 3,000 trees to 30,000 gallons of sap to 3,000 bottles, 100 Mill St. Gin – new at the Club – takes the long way to your highball. Its creator, Peter Connor (Minneapolis Club member and President of Wisconsin-based WD Flooring), knows it’s worth it.

“This is a gin that relies on mother nature to do most of the work,” Connor says. “It is the spring of the year and the angle of the sun that delivers the nectar, maple sap, that makes 100 Mill St. so unique in its smoothness and taste.”

100 Mill St. Gin is distilled from 30,000 gallons of sap to batches of just 26 gallons. “That’s where the smoothness comes from,” Connor says.

With its first run selling out at Haskell’s (twice) and another planned for 2020, it’s easy to believe the hype. Noted review site t8ke gave 100 Mill St. an 8 out of 10 – the highest in the gin category to date – putting it among a prestigious few dozen of the site’s 1,000-plus scores. “[S]ome days you want to let your hair down a little and have something a notch better, but with more going on,” reads the review. “This is that gin.”

Unlike a lot of spirits entrepreneurs, Connor says he wants the drink’s reputation to precede it, free of flowery marketing language and ‘storytelling’.

“100 Mill St. isn’t wrapped up in some marketing story,” he says. “Actually, sort of the opposite: the clean, simple bottle [design] is there but the magic is in the bottle – not the story … [T]he spirit comes first. It has to because no amount of ‘story’ or marketing can outlast the taste of a lousy product. We just don’t have that luxury. We have to lead with our strength: the gin itself.”

100 Mill St. is distilled to batches of just 26 gallons, which Connor says is proof of the care that goes into making such a quality product. “It’s not exclusive in the sense that only a few people can buy it or appreciate it. Its scarcity is merely reflective of the hard truths of how challenging logistically it is to make. If we did like many gins do, by sourcing ethanol and flavoring it, then we could eliminate the scarcity – or exclusivity – but then we wouldn’t be true to what we believe and what makes 100 Mill St. so smooth: the balance of hard maple sap. That’s where the smoothness comes from.”

“We have to lead with our strength: the gin itself”

While the taste won’t be lost on anyone, Connor says there are many reasons to be surprised by its complexity. “Just like no brewer sets out to make the next Bud Light, we set out to make a gin that wasn’t like any other. 100 Mill St. is a gin that was designed for gin drinkers – so as a gin drinker, I focused on what I wanted out of a gin.

“At first, it’s the touch of juniper (which is familiar), then it whisks away to be carried through the middle by the citrus notes only to be finished with cassis and vanilla at the end. It is a gin created for those that love gin.”

And for newbies? “We hope they will say, as many do, ‘I’m not a gin drinker, but I love this.’”

100 Mill St. Gin is available at the Club and at Haskell’s – while it lasts.

Member Q&A: Aram Desteian

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Q: Why was it important to you to join the Minneapolis Club?

A: I joined the Minneapolis Club in late 2011 or early 2012 at the urging of a number of good friends of mine who were members. Over the years, the Club has been and remains my home away from home, although the specific uses have evolved somewhat over time. Currently, the Club offers me a place to meet my friends, a place to relax after work, and a place to enjoy some special one-on-one time with my nearly four-year old son.

Q: How are you involved at the Club?

A: I currently serve on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Club and enjoy the opportunity to work with other members and our staff to help plan for the Club’s future. Beyond serving on that committee, I can often be found in either the bar or the gym, many times with one immediately following the other. While those uses are somewhat contradictory, the gym and the bar are my opportunity to relax and return to “normal” after a long day at work. I can also usually be found having a Saturday morning breakfast in the Grill, either chasing after my son or enjoying some time with my friends.

Q: Describe your work.

A: I’m a litigation attorney at Bassford Remele, an approximately 45-lawyer litigation firm in Downtown Minneapolis. My practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and defending lawyers in ethics and malpractice matters. In addition, I was recently named our firm’s Associate General Counsel, with a special emphasis on advising the firm and our lawyers on issues relating legal ethics.

Q: How is the Club helping you reach professional and personal goals?

A: This is one is easy. Personally, the Club serves as my de facto second home. The gym has offered me a place to reinvigorate my (long-lost) love of lifting weights and working out. In addition, the network of good friends that I’ve met through the Club has been both personally and professionally rewarding. I’m lucky enough to count fellow members amongst my closest friends and my clients. If I’ve learned anything from my nearly eight years of membership it is that the more you put into the Club, the more you get out of it. That has certainly been the case for me.

Q: What is your favorite feature or service at the Club?

A: I think there are a few drastically underutilized aspects of the Club that are big favorites of mine. So much so that I hesitate to talk about them here lest they become too popular.

The first is the Saturday morning breakfast in the Grill. Nearly every Saturday, I can be found in the Grill after working out. Sometimes I’m watching Paw Patrol with my little guy, and others I’m at the bar with four or five buddies having breakfast and a brunch cocktail before starting the weekend. Saturday mornings at the Club are an amazing mix of people and a great experience.

The second is the concierge service. I use it to get my car washed and filled with gas, to get dry cleaning done, shoes re-soled, and to secure hotel rooms when I’m traveling. The staff are amazing at working to ensure that whatever I need is taken care of, and it is a huge time saver for me.

Last, I think the Club bar is the best place to grab a drink in town. Nearly every time I go to the bar I run into a good friend or make a new one. It is a great place to get to know your fellow members.

Q: Describe an extraordinary experience you’ve had at the Club.

A: The best example happened a few weeks back. I arranged for childcare for my son so I could work out and we could grab breakfast afterwards. He loves running around the Club with his friends in the childcare group, so he was excited for it as well. Unfortunately, fifteen minutes before the childcare provider was scheduled to arrive, her company called the Club to tell us she had called in sick. Yvonne from the Fitness Desk went far beyond the call of duty and single-handedly entertained no less than six children of varying ages so that the parents could still get in their workouts. That is just one recent example of the extraordinary service that the Club staff provides on a daily basis.

Q: What are your hobbies and passions?

A: As a lawyer and solo parent, my hobbies have generally been subsumed by a combination of cartoons and lawsuits (but so far, no cartoon lawsuits). The best thing is spending time with my son. Beyond that, I love a good cocktail (or even a bad one frankly), good food, working out, travel, and talking politics or history. My career before law was in politics, so I can often be found in the bar going back and forth with my good friends about the issues of the day.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A: I cannot wait to take my son to Armenia, where our family is historically from. But if I had one trip I could do on my own, it would be to Jerusalem. I would love to explore the old city, see the Armenian Quarter, and generally take in the amazing history that have taken place within the city walls.

Member Q&A: Nicole Behm-Koep

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Q: Why was it important to you to join the Minneapolis Club?
A: I joined the Club in late 2015 mainly for professional reasons. I live and work in Plymouth so it’s convenient to have a place to meet with people downtown. My husband works downtown for Target, so he uses the Club as well. Another reason I joined is Daniel. Each time I would visit a friend at the Minneapolis Club, he knew who I was meeting and greeted each member by name, which made the Club feel warm and welcoming. Surprising to me was how much the Minneapolis Club has become a part of our social life.


Q: You were recently elected to the Board of Governors. How else are you involved at the Club?
A: One of the things I realized is that you get out of the Club what you put into it. In addition to the Board, I have served on the Young Members and Children & Families Committee and recently became Chair of the Women’s
Committee. I try to attend as many Club events as my schedules allow; Oktoberfest, Santa Brunch, Cocktail Club, YMG events, Women’s Leadership Series, and wine tasting are a few of my favorites! Two years ago, I joined a Member Connect Breakfast group and we still meet every other Tuesday in the Grill.


Q: Describe your work.
A: I am the Director of Operations at Quazar Capital, a boutique Investment Banking firm focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions for the lower middlemarket. I have a unique, hybrid role where I lead M&A transactions along with overseeing the Company’s operations and marketing.

Q: How is the Club helping you reach professional and personal goals?
A: The Club is a great place to meet with other professionals. I especially appreciate the Pub as an informal space. The Grill cannot be beat for service and quality of food. I always meet someone new and interesting at networking events. On a personal level, my husband and I have met wonderful friends here. A good portion of time we spend at the Club is with friends.

Q: What is your favorite feature or service at the Club?
A: The second-floor library is one of my favorite spaces. I love the aesthetics and it’s a great casual networking space. I also love spending time on the patio to enjoy a glass of wine or have supper.

Q: Describe an extraordinary experience you’ve had at the Club.
A: Every event I’ve hosted at the Club has been extraordinary from small and large family gatherings to multiple professional events. Our guests always enjoy the food and the overall experience has been great. I enjoy the flexibility of the F&B team to create whatever menu we want for each unique event. The Minneapolis Club team puts on great events and understands how to give event guests an exceptional experience.


Q: What are your hobbies and passions?
A: We have a seven-year-old and thirteen-year-old, so much of our non-work time is spent with the kids at local events or going to our families’ hobby farms to enjoy a slower pace of life when we can. My only hobby at the moment is finding and enjoying good whiskies, specifically bourbons and ryes. I appreciate that the Club has a good selection of both.


Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A: When the kids are out of the house, I would like to take an extended cruise through the Mediterranean Sea stopping at each country. I love the history and the area’s stories which is probably why our girls, Athena and Aurora, are named after Greek and Roman Goddesses.