Homes MSP Real Estate Blog: Sunday's Site - Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts & Foods

December 20, 2009

Sunday's Site - Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts & Foods

NOTE: see the bottom of Sunday's Site posts for homes for sale in the area

Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts & Foods was founded in 1921 in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of south Minneapolis, an area dominated by Scandinavian immigrants at that time. Ingebretsen's has remained true to its roots...still located in its original building...still offering quality Scandinavian foods, as well as arguably the best selection of Scandinavian gifts and needlework in the Twin Cities.

Scandinavian roots are strong in Minneapolis, which has been called the most Scandinavian city in the United States. In fact, in 1930 the Swedes were the largest foreign-born group in Minneapolis...followed by Norwegians and Danes!

Ingebretsen's is well known by local residents of Scandinavian American heritage...now more as a distinctively painted destination stop rather than a neighborhood stop. Citypages named it Minneapolis' Best Place to Accessorize Your Scando Heritage.

Both my husband and I grew up in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, in an area with a strong Norwegian heritage...in fact, our grandparents grew up on opposite sides of the same mountain in Norway. (And yes, the accents in the movie Fargo didn't sound that strange to us!)

We have a family tradition of making our own lefse, but it hasn't happened yet this year so we stopped at Ingebretsen's last weekend to pick up some of their homemade lefse. It was bustling with activity, including special music celebrating Santa Lucia Day, a Swedish celebration of light.

We stopped to eat at a restaurant next door and were reminded that it is still located in a strong immigrant area, although no longer Scandinavian. The menu was in Spanish, our server spoke Spanish...and the authentic Latino meal was delicious!

About 37% of the Minneapolis population was foreign born in 1890, and by 1990 that percentage was down to 6%. That is when a significant new wave of immigration began, bringing many refugees from Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America to the city. By 2000 the percentage of foreign born residents had grown to 14.5% and now more than 80 different languages are spoken by students in Minneapolis schools.

Click here to see homes currently for sale in the area around Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts & Foods at Lake Street & 16th Avenue South in Minneapolis, MN. Please be patient while the link searches for the most current listings...click on the map to zoom in until you see icons on the dots, then pass your cursor over them for property information, click for property details.