Joetown crawl adds new stop

CSB+SJU students will have the opportunity to explore small businesses in St. Joseph on Tuesday, Sept. 30, as a part of the third annual Joetown Walking Crawl.

This year’s Crawl features five local businesses that students will be touring in 15–20-minute slots. The House Food and Tap, one of St. Joe’s most recent developments that opened in March of this year, will be the last stop on the crawl for the first time.

“For us, and being an alum, the hope for The House was to create a bridge between the community and the college. The truth is, when I went to CSB, I didn’t see myself as much of a community member. Our hope is that students can expand beyond college and see this as a community they are a part of,” BriAnne Hern said, owner of The House Food and Tap. “We also are a sponsor of CSB and SJU athletics, so we make sure to support and have their games on, home or away. There is something for everyone, it is a wide pool to try different foods and drinks.”

Alex Larson, a manager of The House and SJU alum, is also excited to see The House be a part of the Joetown Walking Crawl.

“The foundations of The House include the importance of community coming together. Having The House on the crawl provides an elite experience and overall community excitement with something new. It is a good place to fire up,” Larson said.

“The House is an alum owned business, with a large population of the employees being from CSB+SJU. It is exciting that students will be able to stop in and see what The House is all about,” Andrew Moneypenny said, SJU student and employee at The House.

The Crawl begins at Bruno Press, where students will have the opportunity to press their own prints. From there, they can sample ice cream from Jupiter Moon, try some food from the award-winning restaurant Krewe and receive a gift pack from the Minnesota Street Market before heading to The House.

The brainchild of CSB+SJU professors Paul Marsnik, Matt Lindstrom, Emily Paup and Steve Schwarz, along with community member (and Bruno Press owner) Mary Bruno, The Crawl was developed in 2023 as a way to improve the partnership between the two campuses and the broader St. Joseph community.

“St. Joe is a unique place. There are an unusually large number of creative entrepreneurial people here [and with CSB next door], you had this perfect storm of potential,” Marsnik said, who is the director of the McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship.

Historically, while many students frequented the eateries and bars in town, there wasn’t a lot of interest, or even awareness, about the more creative ventures in town, according to Bruno. She said both the colleges and the city were simply missing an opportunity, and learning the businesses’ stories helps students better appreciate their work and will make students more likely to visit these businesses in the future.

“We should be working together, because the synergy between the two is contagious,” Bruno said.

Schwarz, a Global Business Leadership professor, said that the crawl provides time for students to talk with community members that they may not often interact with.

“We thought that students would feel more connected to the community if they learned more about the people behind these businesses,” Schwarz said. “Too often people thought they needed to go to the Cities to explore interesting and creative opportunities, when, in reality, they were overlooking many amazing local businesses right in our backyard.”

The Crawl is a unique offering for all students, regardless of career interest, according to SJU senior and Crawl student organizer Thomas Odenthal.

“The question isn’t are you interested in business or entrepreneurship, but rather are you interested in your local community,” Odenthal said. “Once you graduate and enter real life, you can’t be stuck in a close-knit circle, you need to be a part of your community while you can.”

The professors said they hope to expand the Crawl in the future. Schwarz said he would be interested in implementing a Crawl for new faculty members as a way to introduce them to the broader community.

“We’re just scratching the surface in the collaboration between community entrepreneurs and the colleges,” Marsnik said. “If we do this right, students are going to be so proud to be going to school among this community.”

Marsnik, Schwarz, and Bruno agreed that the primary goal of the Crawl is to integrate CSB+SJU and the city of St. Joe for years to come.

“We want you to be a part of this community forever,” Bruno said. Time slots for the Crawl begin at 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Bruno Press. Spots are limited so registration is required via the link in the EClub Instagram bio.