MN State Fair Finale, Square Roots Opens & Twin Cities Vegan Picks

It's the last hurrah of summer in the Twin Cities: the Great Minnesota Get-Together wraps up on Labor Day after record-setting crowds, a mission-driven African-Creole Southern restaurant opens on East Lake Street, and we check in on our favorite local vegan spots. In this episode: The Minnesota State Fair closes Labor Day, Sept 7 — at 8 p.m., an hour earlier than past years Back-to-back attendance records: 155,000+ on opening Thursday, then 204,065 the first Friday Square Roots, an African-Creole Southern restaurant with a built-in apprenticeship program, opening at 2700 E. Lake St. Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee runs Sept 5–7 and weekends through late September Vegan check-in: Herbivorous Butcher, J. Selby's, Reverie, Trio Plant-Based, Hello Pizza, Hard Times, and The Herbalist Mill City Farmers Market Saturdays 8 a.m.–1 p.m. and St. Paul Farmers' Market in Lowertown Saturdays 7 a.m.–1 p.m. Coming up: Guthrie Theater's "Waiting for Godot" with David Strathairn (Sept 12–Oct 11), Sugar at First Avenue, Brandon Flowers and Liz Phair at the Palace Theatre St. Paul Saints close the season at CHS Field vs. Syracuse Sept 8–13; Lynx host the Liberty Sept 18 Sources: Minnesota State Fair Star Tribune State Fair attendance tracker Mill City Farmers Market St. Paul Farmers' Market — Lowertown First Avenue shows Palace Theatre Guthrie Theater 2026–27 season Minnesota Twins schedule St. Paul Saints schedule Minnesota Lynx schedule Minneapolis seasonal events Star Tribune Restaurant Roll Call Twin Cities Business on MN startup capital Minnesota cannabis license update Subscribe: mplsvegan.com Full transcript George: —and I'm telling you, Laura, I walked past the Stone Arch this morning and there was already a guy set up with a folding chair, a thermos, and a little transistor radio. Like he was staking out a spot for a parade that isn't happening. Laura: Ope, that's peak Minneapolis. George: It really is. Laura: What was he listening to? George: I couldn't tell. Something with horns. He gave me a little nod like we were in on the same secret. Laura: See, that's the thing about this week. Everybody's got that energy. Fair's wrapping up, weather's still holding, we're all trying to squeeze one more good weekend out of it. George: One more, yeah. Laura: I love this stretch though. Like, genuinely. George: Me too. There's something about early September in the Cities that just — Laura: Don't get sappy on me yet, we're four minutes in. George: I wasn't! I was gonna say practical things. Laura: Sure you were. George: Okay so, State Fair. Closes Labor Day, this coming Monday, September seventh. Laura: Which is TODAY-ish for our listeners, depending on when you're catching us. George: Right. And here's the little wrinkle — this year they're closing at eight p.m. on Labor Day. Not nine. Laura: Wait, really? George: An hour earlier than past years. Laura: Huh. Okay. Why? George: I don't actually know. I didn't dig into the reasoning. Laura: That's interesting though, because everybody's got that muscle memory of "oh I'll swing by after work, grab a Pronto Pup, watch the sun go down." George: Exactly. And this year that window's tighter. Laura: So plan accordingly. George: Plan accordingly. If you're doing the last-day thing, get out there earlier than you think. Laura: George, did you go this year? George: I did. Twice. Laura: Only twice? Slacker. George: Listen, I paced myself. Laura: I went opening Thursday actually. George: Oh that was the record day, right? Laura: One of them. Opening Thursday was over 155,000 people, and then Friday jumped to like 204,000. Back-to-back single-day records, per the Strib tracker. George: 204,000. In one day. Laura: In one day. At one fair. George: That's a small city. Laura: That's Rochester walking through the gates in twelve hours. George: I was gonna say it felt busier this year and I thought maybe I was just getting old. Laura: No, you're right AND you're old. George: Thanks, Laura. Laura: You're welcome. George: Okay, so fair closes Monday. What else is happening this weekend? Laura: Ren Fest is open. Shakopee. This weekend's dates are September fifth through seventh. George: That runs through late September, right? Laura: Weekends through late September, yeah. George: Have you ever gone? Laura: I've been ONCE. In like, high school. A guy tried to sell me a turkey leg the size of my forearm and I have never recovered. George: That's the whole point of Ren Fest. Laura: I know it's the point! I'm just saying, I was not emotionally prepared. George: Fair enough. Laura: What about you, are you a Ren Fest guy? George: I've gone a few times. I like the jousting. Laura: Of course you like the jousting. George: Why "of course"? Laura: Because you're George. You like the wholesome slightly cheesy stuff. You probably clap for the horses. George: I do clap for the horses. Laura: I rest my case. George: Okay let's talk food, because we've been circling it. Laura: Yes. Please. I'm hungry just thinking about mini donuts. George: So the big food story I saw this week — Square Roots is opening on East Lake. Laura: African-Creole Southern, right? George: African-Creole Southern, twenty-seven hundred East Lake Street. And what I love — they've got a built-in apprenticeship program. Laura: That's the part that...