Bde Maka Ska pavilion opens to the public
MINNEAPOLIS -- After years of waiting, the Bde Maka Ska pavilion opened its doors on Friday.
The building burned down in 2019. Now, four years later, the $6.5 million project features outdoor gathering spaces, improved trails, and 51 bike stalls. It's an investment some visitors say other cities wouldn't make.
"We're so lucky. We really, really are," Kathryn Runman-Zimney, of Edina, said. "Our tax dollars are at work in these parks, and I've loved them all my life, and always will."
It's also home to the new Pimento on the Lake restaurant and Pimento Market.
"We're never going back. We have an opportunity here to build something for generations to come," said Pimento's Tomme Beevas.
He spoke about the lack of access to capital for BIPOC entrepreneurs, and called for continued work on economic equity. In all, the pavilion will feature more than 20 women- and BIPOC-owned businesses.
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"Just as we acknowledge being on Native land, we have to acknowledge the economic importance of this place," said Louis King, owner of Lola on the Lake and Lola's Cafe. "It's not just necessary for us to earn a buck, but for the children to see someone like Tomme."
The building has seating for 250 people, 3,000 square feet of outdoor covered space featuring ceiling-mounted heaters, and a small performance stage.
"Thousands of park users use this space. We are, what, the second most visited spot in the entire state? This chain of lakes here. So I'm really excited to have this reopened again," Meg Forney, President of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, said.
It is already drawing even more people to the already popular lake and they say they like what they see.
"I think it's beautiful. It's a great setting, a beautiful spot," Doug Burkett, of Plymouth, said. "It's nice to have Pimento here with the food option."
The pavilion also honors the history of the land on which it sits with signs reminding people that this is native land and Indigenous phrases translated into English.