Lost Fox takes action to support downtown retailers
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
Standing in a sea of glass at dawn following the fifth break-in of her business all within a year, Annie Rose, owner of Lost Fox – a coffee shop, restaurant and bar – dispatched a post on social media saying she couldn’t take much more. A year later, recalling the community’s response, tears came to her eyes. The day after she posted, countless people showed up to patronize her business and offer words of encouragement. The overwhelming display of care prompted her to explore ways to support other small businesses downtown, specifically on 4th Street where her business is located across the street from Union Depot.
In late November, she’s officially launching an initiative dubbed Positively 4th Street. A receipt from any small business in downtown will be good for 10% off any drink at Lost Fox. Each month she will spotlight a business and remitting a receipt from there will get you 25% off a drink. While the initiative shares the same name as Bob Dylan’s famous 1965 track, Rose chose the name after finding historic photos of Lowertown showing many businesses with signs in their windows with that slogan.
Rose is also working with the St. Paul Downtown Alliance to simultaneously launch an interactive map of small businesses in Lowertown, making it easy for locals and visitors alike to find new or existing businesses of all kinds. QR codes leading to the digital map will be posted at Lost Fox and other businesses.
“My husband and I wanted to see what we could do within our four walls of the Lost Fox to help the community,” said Rose. “It may not seem like a lot, but I think it adds up. We’re just trying to support the other businesses around us…. Hopefully we can give back some of that camaraderie, love and support that we received.”
Rose was quick to tout the efforts of likeminded folks working on a grassroots level to help boost the downtown environment, including Sara Davis of the newly formed Lowertown Call to Action advocacy group, and Donald Gardner, owner of DG Pilot gift shop, which offers travel essentials, gifts and apparel, and “passports” highlighting other downtown businesses. Rose is also assisting Ambit Media – a new social media site focused on promoting reliable local news – on the creation of a small business map similar to the Downtown Alliance’s. It is set to go live by the end of the year.
Since the pandemic, downtown has faced issues with safety, business closures and a rise in homelessness, but Rose said she’s seen positive change lately and hopes more people will open new businesses there. Doing so, she said, will help build up other businesses and increase neighborhood safety.
“I’ve been meeting with the City for the better part of a year and a half, and the differences I’ve seen are pretty amazing,” she said. “Adding light fixtures, talking with owners of problem buildings and getting more eyes on the street. That has all been helping…. There is definitely opportunity [for small businesses]… There are a lot of good community members who really want to make downtown and Lowertown a better place.”
Rose is a Minnesota native and former West Sider who has worked in the restaurant industry for about 25 years, including seven at Dark Horse in Lowertown; her husband previously worked at Caffetto Coffee House in Uptown Minneapolis for a dozen years. They opened Lost Fox in 2022, and this summer began offering a full menu all day, as well as brunch. Rose recently applied for a neighborhood STAR grant from the City of St. Paul to begin some form of theater programming at Lost Fox. She expects to hear back on the grant in December. For more information about Lost Fox, 213 4th Street St., call 651-493-4694 or visit lostfoxlowertown.com.
