The Minneapolis Club

Leadership, Service, Community

The Grill

The Minneapolis Club Kitchen Gets Ready to Send 2019 Out with Panache

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To plan for 2020, Håkan Lundberg is keeping one eye on the past. What worked, what didn’t, what guests enjoy most and how the Minneapolis Club has changed – he devotes as much time to thinking about where the Club’s cuisine is now as where he wants to help take it in the future.

“I definitely look at what worked in previous years,” Håkan says. “If there’s something we do and I get a lot of positive feedback on it, I don’t mind repeating that.”

The annual Open House, a make-your-own pizza event in the kitchen and other favorites could get a chance to return. But that doesn’t mean Håkan and his staff won’t try new things in the coming year – just that he knows how to make a good thing last.

“Everything kind of runs its course,” he says. “You get a couple years out of something and then members want to experience something new. But if I find something they really enjoy, I try to give them as much of that as I can.”

Chef recently shared some of his culinary secrets with eager members during his cooking demo in the third-floor kitchen. His first secret? After your food is in the pre-heated pan, just let it be. Resist that urge to stir, nudge or flip. Other secrets revealed included how to slow roast tenderloin so even when guests are late, you can serve a perfect meal. Want to learn more? Stay tuned for Håkan’s Culinary Class, new in 2020.

“Everything kind of runs its course”

In the nearer term (Thanksgiving and Christmas, for example), Håkan has high hopes for the kitchen – so high that he doesn’t want to mention some of his plans in case they don’t pan out in 2019. Growing up in Sweden, he didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving, but he knows how important the holidays are to members and guests of the Minneapolis Club in particular.

The Club’s kitchen staff is diligent about creating beautiful buffets and menus to excite and impress; about buffets that help families connect over their favorite flavors; about helping members forge new friendships over a tasty side dish.

Before putting 2019 in the rearview, Håkan hopes to give the Club a few more memories by filling plates with classic dishes and new favorites. To schedule your private party or find out more about holiday cuisine at the Club, call Catering at (612) 334-0218 or get in touch with Jodie (jodiew@mplsclub.org) or Ashley (ashleyb@mplsclub.org).

Sarah Colianni Mixes Drinks and Conversation at the Bar

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Sarah Colianni has been tending bar at the Club for about a year now, but it feels longer than that.

“That sounds bad, but I think that’s because of the setting,” she says. “Interacting with people at the Minneapolis Club, I’ve gotten to form better connections with the people who come and sit at the bar compared to other places I’ve worked at. It feels longer just because of how well I’ve gotten to know them.”

Some members say Sarah knows them better than anyone else; she says some consider her a friend. “It feels like family, almost – just making them feel comfortable.”

“It doesn’t feel like I’m doing a job – it just feels like a natural connection. It doesn’t feel like I’m going off a script.  It just flows really naturally.”

That natural flow, Colianni says, is informed by both her near-decade in the service industry and her Italian-American upbringing – which, to hear her describe it, comprised a lot of big family dinners and conversation.

“It’s just how I was raised. The whole [Italian] culture is kind of based on hospitality and making everyone feel welcome. You can’t teach hospitality – it’s just ingrained in me.”

Despite that intangibility, she’s had no problem sharing what she knows with other Club food and beverage staff, pulling from her experiences as a barista and mixologist at a number of Twin Cities institutions, including helping to open a distillery in St. Louis Park. At the Club, she’s helped with training materials, process improvement, and more.

“You can’t teach hospitality”

Still, Colianni’s passion for her work lies in the natural connections that occur across the bar, over drinks and between barstaff. “I worked in high-volume restaurants before, where you don’t get as much creativity to experiment,” she says. “That’s one thing I love about my job at the Club: people have the drinks they love, but then sometimes they branch out, and I get to introduce new drinks to them” and experiment with food and beverage staff to create all-new menu options.

Sarah Colianni, Bartender - Minneapolis Club

Members say Sarah even makes a “trademark” Old Fashioned – one so good, a visitor once said it was the best Old Fashioned he’d had in the USA. Others suggest that it should have its own special name, an idea that gains momentum when she mentions that her recipe includes a secret ingredient.

“I have no idea what to call it,” she says, adding, “If anybody has any suggestions…”

Visit the bar, try Sarah’s signature Old Fashioned, and maybe drop a name into the hat.

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.