MINNEAPOLIS—Aparium Hotel Group is opening the Hewing Hotel here in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood, transforming the century-old brick and timber warehouse Jackson Building into a Nordic-inspired retreat in the spirit of Minnesota’s northern woods and lakes, according to the company. The upscale, independent hotel will be located at 300 N. Washington Ave.
“We built this hotel for the community,” said Mario Tricoci, CEO and managing partner of Aparium. “Our goal is to serve as a social anchor for Minneapolis’s North Loop and as a genuine portal for travelers to experience Minnesota’s Up North sensibility.”
Inspired by the loggers who helped build the City of Minneapolis over 100 years ago, Hewing Hotel derives its name “hewing” from the process by which one transforms raw wood into timber and pays tribute to the building’s past life as a warehouse for farm equipment. The hotel embraces Minneapolis’s heritage while offering contemporary amenities and experiences for locals and travelers alike, according to the company.
Hewing Hotel will offer a dining destination helmed by Food & Wine’s Best New Chef 2015 Executive Chef Grae Nonas. With a focus on hyperlocal sourcing and partnerships with regional farmers, freshwater fishermen and area vendors, Tullibee pays tribute to Minnesota’s culinary and cultural roots by drawing inspiration from its woods and lakes. The name “Tullibee” comes from one of the Minnesota’s rarest fish found in the state’s coldest deep northern lakes.
Chef Nonas will embrace many of the practices that have rooted Minneapolis’s culinary traditions, including foraging, butchery and fermentation. He will also showcase a full range of game and offal as well as a rotating market-driven chalkboard of off-cuts. Nonas will look to create dishes driven by seasonality, hearty vegetables and sharable fish and meat dishes served from the restaurant’s wood-burning grill and oven, according to the company.
Hewing Hotel’s sixth-floor rooftop, with its view of the downtown skyline, can be enjoyed throughout the year. The space will feature a spa-pool and 20-person cedar-wood sauna that are available throughout the year. Hotel guests and members of The Rooftop Social Club, a hotel amenity that provides special access to the rooftop, can enjoy the spa-pool, sauna experience and rooftop amenities during the day. The public can take in the view at the rooftop lounge complete with fire pits during the evening hours.
Like all of its hotels, Aparium Hotel Group utilizes the building’s rich history to guide the evolution, design and character of the project, according to the company. Hewing Hotel’s interior design from Elness Swenson Graham Architects celebrates old and new, creating a community-centric space that showcases rough elements balanced with contemporary touches. It incorporates elements from the hotel’s history and surrounding neighborhood, as well as products from local artisans.
Throughout the hotel, original 19th-century wood columns and masonry walls are blended with new raw materials, including a steel and glass vestibule, custom mosaic tile in the bar and hardwood floors accented by various handmade area rugs. The design includes the use of steel, wood, stone, zinc and custom millwork as well as materials such as leather, flannel, wools and knits. Assorted lighting includes a combination of mid-century modern fixtures in the lobby, uncovered vintage chandeliers in the ballrooms and a hand-blown glass installation in the atrium from Foci-Minnesota Center for Glass Arts, a local glass-blowing fellowship in Northeast Minneapolis.
Upon entering the hotel through a glass-and-steel vestibule, guests will be surrounded by the timber atrium providing views of the first floor lobby, the guestroom floors, the sixth floor rooftop and the Minneapolis sky above. The lobby provides both intimate spaces and large areas for gatherings. The main level features The Andrews Ballroom, The Commissioner Boardroom, private dining rooms, lobby lounge areas and a full-service restaurant with an open wood-burning grill and oven inspired by Minnesota’s woods and lakes.
The hotel’s 124 guestrooms celebrate and truly embrace what it means to be “Minnesota Modern,” according to the company. The design of the guestrooms was developed over time to fill each room with touches of Minnesota and Scandinavian influence, including wall coverings that blend Nordic folklore patterns with iconic Minnesota images to custom-made Fairbault Woolen Mills blankets.