North Loop Wine & Spirits ToDoTC.com To Do in the Twin Cities Restaurants

	North Loop Wine & Spirits Date: Apil 2, 2026 218 N Washington Ave Mpls, MN 55401 Phone: (612) 338-5393 www.Northloopwine.com

North Loop Wine & Spirits

If you are unfamiliar with the 90s TV show Cheers, it’s your regular bar where “Everyone Knows Your Name!” North Loop Wine & Spirits for us IS that place. For, the past five years we are pretty much on a first name basis for not only the sales associates but the owner, the weekly wine professional and many of their customers. Oh, and less I forget RANDY the parking lot security who we talk to every Friday night.

Is North Loop Wine & Spirits the best wine & spirits shop in the metro? I’m going with YES. Do we buy all our wine & spirits there? NO, Total Wine is cheaper. If someone says bring that favorite bottle of wine, you have been waiting YEARS Open… We are going down to see Patrick our go to guy at North Loop and he’ll get us that wine. He’ll probably ask us 5-6 questions, but the wine will be the highlight of the night, it always is. Now the STORY I need to drum up on why we saved it 15 years to open it… LOL !

The only place other than midnight to 6AM every day we are USUALLY at, is North Loop for their Friday night tasting at 6:30. It runs I think 4-8 every Friday and of course is FREE. But it goes WAY past that.  Other than the regular workers the people that come down for the tasting varies every week but most of us introduce ourselves as we drink. Are you looking for the great new restaurant or dive bar in town ask the person serving wine. They were probably there six months before it opened getting the place the perfect wine & drink. Without question the wine people from the different distributors are our number one resource for finding interesting places to eat or have fun.

Now if you are looking for wine or spirits. If there is a shorter lady who’s rarely there after hours that is LISA. We can’t say enough nice things about Lisa: Smart, personable, a great business lady. And the most important thing people don’t know about Lisa by working with other North Loop Business owners Lisa and the other owners have taken money out of their pocket to add security to the North Loop area so we ALL FEEL SAFE!

The person pouring wine samples in the back of the store or in the parking lot varies every week. Get on North Loops weekly email blast and you will see their picture, name and who they work for. In the book in Search of Excellence they determined the most important and pleasant word to anyone is their name. So, E&I cheat and every time we get the email blast on Thursday I write their name in our calendar. So, when we open the back door, I yell: PETE GREAT to see you. And then Pete either asks someone or tries to remember OUR name because WE remembered HIS. Even though we cheat they are ALL our friends. Whom also surround them getting free wine.

Now who will we see this week. Is there a new pup I need to steal a treat for? Are we going to see Julie the daughter of some wine friends who will be starting Kindergarten this fall. We have talked to her, always with a sucker in her mouth, since she was in diapers. There are always a few couples looking for a place to eat on Friday or telling us of a place we must go. It is just a fun place. Don’t worry if you know nothing about wine or don’t like it, that’s how we learn. Don’t COST NUTHIN!

And if we find a wine we like the taste of, always at a discount, we take it to one of four guys. Patrick about 5’8” about 55 years old who looks like he just left the gym and can tell you of his world travels, again a great resource. Then there’s Dave a tall guy from the Eagan area that is often out back to get his glass filled. Bill the older gentleman that knows his wine. And Alexis the tall thin Eastern European guy who also knows his wine.

The staff varies but that is a start.  If you are looking for the start of a great Friday evening, we have gone to a lot of places but few places better than North Loop Wine & Spirits from there you can walk or drive a mile in ANY direction and find the 50 of the best award winning restaurants and night spots in the Twin Cities.

Come on down, the gang should know your NAME TOO!

Contact us Dennis@ToDoTC.com