Minneapolis Mn area

[breacher]

Im voting outside the mall, coffee shops are probly going to be infested by soccer moms and/or emo hipsters. just short of renting out a partyroom we are going to have to make due. is there a coffee shop near the mall? Starbucks are damn near on every corner so we need to settle on which one.

[marbhán marfóir]

Ok, I think I can actually make this one.

I'm not scheduled to be out of state, and it'll be $50 in gas to round trip it, but WTH, why not?

anyone in Rochester Area interested in Carpooling let me know.

[Sāj]

I am not a Caribou Fan but most of the other coffee shops near the mall are either in the mall, airport or a target.

Caribou Coffee
1700 E 66th St
Minneapolis, MN 55423

It's just down the road from the MOA. Has anyone actually been there before? I don't know if it's one of those tiny caribou's with like 4 tables or not.

[cmxterra]

I believe there is a tgi Fridays on the south side of the mall.

[breacher]

food would be cool im in for that

[ZomCon Sargeant]

Hello

I live in the Twin Cities and just recently joined the forum. Planning on becoming a offical ZS member soon (probably after Christmas).
I am a survivalist, deer hunter, first responder (MN Certified), costumer (501st Legion), and beer drinker.

Have yet to talk to a couple good friend's of mine about becoming members. Mentioned ZS to my wife and I am hoping that she wants to join too.
Sounds like you all want to get a Minnesota chapter going. I say let's do it!

[kbilly84]

I believe there is a tgi Fridays on the south side of the mall.

That sounds cool. But if we're doing 10am, I'd lean towards more of a Perkin's vibe. Just sayin.

ETA: the only TGI Friday's open before 11am is in the Airport.

[SteveD]

Having never been to the MOA. Is there some sort of food court where we could meet at? I don't want to be wandering around the place looking for the meeting.

[ZomCon Sargeant]

Having never been to the MOA. Is there some sort of food court where we could meet at? I don't want to be wandering around the place looking for the meeting.

If you were all thinking of meeting at the MOA there is a large food court on the 3rd floor (North?). There are other smaller foodcourts I believe on the 2nd floor (Southside?).

Haven't been there in a few years. I'm sure it will still be a "zoo" there even in January for all of after Christmas sales.

[kbilly84]

Having never been to the MOA. Is there some sort of food court where we could meet at? I don't want to be wandering around the place looking for the meeting.

I get the feeling the mall itself has been ruled out. Anyone still want to do that? Might make it easier for marbhan and steve to find, coming in form out-of-town

Updated roll call (location-ish):
Breacher
cmxterra (apple valley)
Sāj (farmington)
SteveD (WI)
marbhán marfóir (rochester)
Me (roseville)

ZomCom and doubleohseven are maybe's?

[kbilly84]

Based on locations, here's my assessment of options:

MOA, Inside: Caribou across from Nordstroms (NW corner) on first floor. easy-peasy to find
Near MOA: Caribou at 1700 E 66th St Minneapolis. Straight north of MOA on Cedar. Also should be easy to find (My 2nd choice)
East St. Paul: 1959 Suburban Avenue, Saint Paul. Block south of I-94. 1/2 way between 494 and 35E.
Inver Grove Heights (South central): 5763 Blaine Ave Inver Grove Heights. Just south of 494 on hwy 52.

My personal Favorite:
White Bear lake (NE-ish): 3001 White Bear Ave N # 5 Saint Paul, MN. I go to this one whenever I'm not cheap and making my own. We can reserve a meeting room I think. Can damn-near spit on 694 from the parking lot, so easy to find. Only drawback is the northerly location.

I stuck with the original theme of coffee, Caribou for simplicity's sake. And I'm a Caribou whore. Of course, if anyone has anything other options to suggest, bring 'em up. But at this point, I think specificity is key. We're getting down to the wire, and ambiguity might cause more problems than it solves.

When: Dec 10th at 10am.
Just need the where..............

[Sāj]

I don't see how finding anything in the mall is anything but confusing. Plus the food court will be very loud and hard to hear people. The caribou in the mall is usually pretty busy on the weekends (soccer mom's need their fix too).

[ZomCon Sargeant]

I am only a maybe if it doesn't conflict with my work schedule. Sundays I am usually free and anytime before Noon on Saturdays work best for me.

I am very serious about helping form a MN Chapter. I am also a member of the 501st Legion and have been doing charity work with them since 2009.

Caribou also works for me. All of those locations I am familar with. I am right in the heart of St. Paul.

[doubleohseven]

I don't see how finding anything in the mall is anything but confusing. Plus the food court will be very loud and hard to hear people. The caribou in the mall is usually pretty busy on the weekends (soccer mom's need their fix too).

My issue with the Mall is
A) They are stupid and post no firearms signs at half the entrances

B) They don't post signs correctly, IF I had the budget to field a security force that was bigger and more able than most small police departments (4 bomb dogs now?) I'd be able to afford a lawyer that could teach me how to make the correct signs for the State of Minnesota that prohibit firearms.

C) The fact they can afford to do the signage correctly but choose not to means they don't really care to restrict firearms, they just want to make anti-gun people comfortable.


Anyway, those are my own personal reasons for hating the mall with a fire filled passion.

I also hate crowds.


That is all.

Someone said perkins....

[breacher]

Ok so the moa is out........ From the looks of it we are running 9 deep (roughly) that means we need to seat 9 (roughly). kbilly check and see if the whitebear caribou indeed has a meeting room and if we can use it. That way we can get the meat and potatos of this chapter going without interruption. anywhere we go we are going to need space and a somewhat quiet enviroment to talk. We have a list of things to go through before this even gets off the ground so everyone needs to come up with a charity event to consider and vote on, we need officers (3 paid members) to submit for paperwork, skill sets, employment, anything that may help down the road. these things I think need to be addressed before anything else at this point IMHO.

[marbhán marfóir]

could I perhaps suggest a Panera then? they are usually a bit bigger than Caribou, and have more seating, and more food choices if some of us decide to get food.

[kbilly84]

could I perhaps suggest a Panera then? they are usually a bit bigger than Caribou, and have more seating, and more food choices if some of us decide to get food.

I like that idea. Would they have a meeting room? Anyone know of a good one?

I called 16 Caribou shops yesterday. Of those, less than half had a meeting room, and only one wasn't booked at 10am on the 10th. It's in Little Canada, just south of 694 on Rice St. It's a crap location, and kind of a hole-in-the-wall. But due to lack of other options, I booked it for 2 hours.

I think we should explore the Panera option. Even if they don't have meeting rooms, it makes sense they'd be quieter than a caribou....

[breacher]

There is a panera in roseville that is supposed to be good I didn't get an answer when I called but they are supposed to be a decent sized place so I think this is a good option.

[kbilly84]

There is a panera in roseville that is supposed to be good I didn't get an answer when I called but they are supposed to be a decent sized place so I think this is a good option.

Sounds good to me. It's a part of the Roseville mall (Rosedale?), but it's accessible from the outside, so no dealing with mall crowds. Just mall parking But then, parking anywhere on a Saturday AM this time of year is gonna be a bitch.

Does anyone know if they have a meeting room? It's been a while since I've been to a Panera (St. Cloud, not the cities), but I vaguely recall seeing one there.....?

[cmxterra]

crap on a stick...

I just got a shooting ( photography) gig on that Saturday that will not be done till noon. So unless we can push it back a little I will miss it. Oh btw I submitted payment for membership a couple weeks back.

[breacher]

I have to work at 2 so I maybe able to hang around for a bit longer it depends on traffic.

[sstephens3769]

[b]Hi everyone I am very new to this site & am also interested in starting a MN Chapter If Anyone could please fill me in on the details of a meeting or possibility of meeting about this issue that would be great! my email is sstephens@scottbuild.com[/b]

[ZomCon Sargeant]

Ok I missed it. So the date and time has been set for Saturday December 10th at 10am correct?

I actually took that day off of work for my father in law's 60th suprise b-day party which isn't until later in the afternoon. So I should be able to make it out.

But where are we meeting up? Anything around the cities will work for me.

Looks like we have more than enough people ready to get this started. I however still need to become an official member which I plan on doing first thing after Christmas.

By the way I am totally down for someday going to Bill's or Oakdale in the future. I am there a lot anyway

I like Bill's but Oakdale I think would be better.

[kbilly84]

I talked to the Panera in Roseville yesterday. They don't have a meeting room per se, but they do have a large, conference type table that we can reserve if we call early in the morning. So, Caribou in Little Canada or Panera in Roseville? I'm cool with either.