downtown dickinson – Page 2

JLG Architects sets up shop in downtown Dickinson

Rob Remark is a lonely soul. At least for the time being.

“We’re moving,” he said as he smiled and sat down in his barren, temporary office on the first floor of the historic Elks Building in downtown Dickinson.

For now, Remark’s desk is a folding table, and his conference table is the kind you play cards at. He doesn’t have anything on the walls. In the area that will become his office, there are two large, antiquated restroom urinals — among other junk — in the process of being removed from the building.

None of that has stopped Remark — the manager and, for now, the lone employee of JLG Architects’ newest branch — and his firm from making inroads in his new community.

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Dickinson needs more events like concert

Gwen 11 — Gwen Sebastian and her band perform Tuesday evening at the Alive@5 street concert in Dickinson.

I stood on the roof of the old Elks Building in downtown Dickinson on Thursday night and said to someone, “Why don’t we do this more often?”

And I didn’t mean standing on top of one of downtown’s tallest buildings, though the view was pretty great. Of course, I’m talking about the Alive@5 free street concerts by Gwen Sebastian and Outlaw Sippin’, and everything else that went along with it, from the local law enforcement’s National Night Out to the beer gardens outside of The Rock, bouncy castles for the kids and some pretty delicious food vendors on First Avenue West.

Nights like that need to happen more often in Dickinson, and this city is getting to a point where it cannot only make that happen, it has a population that wants to see it happen.

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A place for gamers and geeks: Badlands Comics and Games opens

John Nyman and John Odermann are kindred spirits.

Each man considers himself to be a “geek.” While they’re geekiness isn’t exactly the same, they’ve decided it could make for a great business partnership.

The Dickinson men have opened a store together where they hope other so-called geeks can come together and enjoy their hobbies and interests.

“Geeks tend to stick together,” Odermann said with a smile. “We like to talk to each other about the things that we like.”

Badlands Comics and Games opened Thursday, May 30 on West Villard in Dickinson. It’s the first store of its kind in the city and the first to sell a variety of comic books in more than two decades. The store will sell comic books, tabletop games, role-playing games and trading card games, and will also provide game rooms where customers can spend long hours playing their games with friends or even hold tournaments.

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Downtown Dickinson revitalization a growing need

While in Bismarck on Saturday night, I decided it was time for Sarah and I to try something different and move our palettes beyond the growingly bland chain restaurants we have eaten at too many times.

When I started looking for a different place to eat and surprise her with, my first thought was to look up dining in downtown Bismarck. That’s when I came up with the Toasted Frog. I had heard a lot about it, but had never been there — much like many of the dining spots in our capital city’s downtown.

Before Saturday, I had never been in Bismarck’s downtown and thought, “Wow, what a cool atmosphere.” Despite rain, people were out and about and the place was vibrant. The Toasted Frog had great food, and the restaurant and its surrounding streets provided something we don’t have much of in Dickinson — a vibrant downtown atmosphere.

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