People returning to University Avenue for the first time since last fall will notice not just a corridor recovering from last summer's riots, but one that is getting all kinds of new investment.

Flashback: Last summer's unrest resulted in damage to 280 St. Paul businesses, with University Avenue and the Midway neighborhood at the heart of the destruction.

What's happened since: The We Love Midway fundraising campaign has provided or committed more than $1 million in grants to small businesses for repairs and reopening, said Chad Kulas, executive director of the Midway Chamber of Commerce.

• Lloyd's Pharmacy, burned a year ago, is building a new store on Snelling Avenue.
• Displaced local restaurants such as Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine, Peking Garden and Thien's Cajun (now King Cajun) have reopened in new spots in the area.
• Turf Club has concerts booked for early July. Its owner, First Avenue's Dayna Frank, talked about the night the club went up in flames on the Axios Re:Cap podcast yesterday.

🏗 What's next: University was a hot corridor for development before the unrest, and that momentum has not slowed.

• Two buildings with 277 units are complete or nearly complete just west of Allianz Field.
• 220 units are under construction at the former U.S. Bank site at Raymond Avenue.
• Another 243 units are underway at Fairview Avenue.

What they're saying: Kulas said the business community was emboldened to stick around after seeing money and support flow in from the community.

• "Those business owners that saw their places burned down at first had to really think, 'Am I gonna do this again?' They could see the community has my back, and they want to be here for me. "

Yes, but: The biggest question mark about the corridor's recovery is the Midway Shopping Center just north of Allianz Field, which is controlled by Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire.

• That complex has been desolate since the riots and the city has ordered the buildings to be demolished by June 18, according to Frederick Melo of the Pioneer Press.
• McGuire and developer Mortenson had previously floated two retail-apartment towers on the site, but Melo says they've been silent since then.

A new survey found that 56% of Black Twin Cities residents believe their race has negatively impacted their future job prospects.

• That ranks along with Denver at the bottom of 17 metro areas in a survey from McKinsey & Co. and Ipsos, provided first to Axios.
• McKinsey surveyed 25,109 adults in March and April, 2,552 of whom were Black.

Context: The numbers should not come as a surprise in the Twin Cities, where we have the nation's second-widest gap between income for whites and Blacks.

• 27% of Asians in the Twin Cities said their race negatively impacted their future job prospects. For Hispanics, that number is 19% and for whites it's 10%.

The Twins have won four straight and six of their past seven games.

The state of play: After starting the year 14-28, the Twins are now 20-29, following yesterday's 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Target Field.

Glass half full: The Twins play their next 10 games against the teams with losing records: the Orioles and the Kansas City Royals.

• They could find themselves close to .500 if they put together a good stretch of baseball. That would put them back in the race for the AL Central title.

Glass half empty: The team is plagued by injuries and playing without Byron Buxton, Nelson Cruz, Kenta Maeda and Luis Arraez.

• If they trip up over the next 10 games, they will have dug themselves a hole too deep to climb out of.

🍗 Korean fried chicken chain Bonchon is opening a restaurant at 1348 Town Centre Drive. (Eagan Planning Commission/Bonchon)

☕️ Frogtown's first Black-owned coffee shop, Flava Cafe, will open this fall at University and Dale. (Star Tribune)

🔥 Urban Wok, which has restaurants in St. Paul and Oakdale, is planning an outpost at 4755 Chicago Ave., according to a coming soon sign that Nick saw.

🍖 A Handsome Hog alum is opening his own barbecue trailer, Boomin Barbeque, and will operate at the parking lot of Northeast Minneapolis liquor store Ombibulous. (Mpls/St.Paul Magazine)

Earlier this week, Torey shared her favorite dog parks. Here are some of yours!

• Airport Dog Park: "The choice of the proletariat ... Lots of space, especially fun in winter when the swamp freezes over. Plenty of socializing for dogs and humans, and it's free (no permit required, as with all the others in area)."
• Thresher Off Leash Dog Park (Eagan): "There is both a big dog and small dog area. The big dog area has nice trails, leads to a lake where the pups can swim, and some hills to get your blood pumping! The small dog area is pretty minimal.''
• Wag Farms Dog Park (Cottage Grove): "A 14-acre, fully fenced park run by volunteers."
• Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake): "28 acres, fenced, wooded trails, open grass trails, picnic tables, water stations, splash/swim pond."

A reminder: Many of the parks require permits, so check ahead.

One of Nick's favorite treats is the Pearson's Salted Nut Roll. But he's not so sure about a pair of new flavors the 110-year-old St. Paul-based candy maker is rolling out (no pun intended).

• In a store near you, for a limited time: The Cinnamon Churro Nut Roll and the Spicy Nut Roll.

Here's how Pearson's describes them:

• "Cinnamon Churro packs a punch with the sweet heat of red-hot cinnamon."
• "Spicy brings a unique Tex-Mex style savory flavor."