The turnover at the River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall continues. Shaka Smoke Lodge, one of the hall’s last original tenants, has closed after 13 years in business. Across the way, Layla’s Pizzeria has also closed. No word yet on what’ll take their place. But according to the River Market’s website, Brown Sugar Bakeshop is scheduled to open this month.
The Root Cafe, a local foods restaurant, is narrowing down potential locations and hoping to open this summer, according to co-owner Jack Sundell. The cafe will offer gourmet and organic selections, local beer and wine and a soup-sandwich-salad menu. Building community through local food is the mission, Sundell says. Along those lines, the cafe will host cooking and canning classes.
Until it opens, the Root Cafe is hosting classes at the Sustainable Alternatives headquarters, 101 N. Woodrow. Beginning on Sunday, March 15, the group offers “Menu for the Future,” a six-session course on “food systems and their impacts on culture, society and the environment.” The fee is $20. To register, call 944-8500 or e-mail therootcafe@yahoo.com.