In May, 2022, Froggy Bottoms, one of the more popular local eateries and bars in Northfield, shut its doors for good due to an inability to find staff. On Oct. 19, the space had a grand opening on Oct. 19, relaunching as Froggz — “where every moment is a leap into something special” — headed by two new owners, brothers Nate Bram and Nic Erickson.
Both Bram and Erickson have had previous experience in owning businesses, but not a restaurant, and not together.
“We’ve wanted to run a restaurant together for a while,” said Erickson in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
The brothers had been on their way back from a wrestling tournament in Rochester when they decided to check out Northfield.
“I was like, ‘wasn’t this where Jesse James was caught? Let’s go check it out.’ And when we stopped, we found this place,” Erickson said.
“Good things happen when you’re looking for them,” said Bram.
Neither had known Froggy Bottoms while it was open, but they want to keep some of the nostalgia of the old place while ushering in a new era.
“We’re different — a little bit more flair, a little bit more attitude, a little bit more urban,” Erickson said.
Both brothers agreed Froggy Bottoms was good, but it needed to be revamped. When asked about challenges starting up the restaurant again, they identified one expected obstacle and one major unexpected one. The former being troubles that come with an old building, the latter, the flood in June. The flood happened about a month into their remodeling.
“We had just cleaned everything up,” Erickson said, “and then the flood set us back big time, about two months.”
Looking ahead, the brothers have a few goals for the tavern in the future, most notably in making a positive impact on the community. To reach this goal, they plan to host a community Thanksgiving meal, be a part of Jesse James Days, and donate to the Northfield Historical Society.
“You don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been,” Bram said.
The goal they’re most excited to tackle, however, is catering to both the townies and the college students of Northfield.
“[We] want a community place for everyone,” Erickson said. “The community as a whole is so diverse, between the colleges alone there are diverse communities.” They plan to start “Throwback Thursdays,” which will be generationally themed nights where everyone — townies and college students alike — can dress up for a certain decade and listen to some music.
Overall, they want Froggz to be available as a safe space for people to come and enjoy themselves. “We won’t tolerate any shenanigans or crap from anybody,” Erickson said.
You could feel and see the eagerness on the brothers’ faces as they talked about their goals and hopes for Froggz’s future.
“[We’re] excited to be here and excited to welcome everybody,” Bram said.
