FARGO, N.D. — The gift shop at the four-gate airport here sells the obligatory coffee mugs emblazoned with "Yah, you betcha." It also sells posters with moody black-and-white photos of great cities of the world: Moscow. London. Paris. Fargo.
It's no joke.
Or at least, not much of one.
The Coen brothers' grisly comedy "Fargo" cursed this city with a dreary reputation. Just one scene in the 1996 film takes place here. Yet Fargo became fixed in the public imagination as a frozen wasteland of seedy bars and hick accents.
The frozen part is undeniably accurate; the thermometer read minus 27 the other day, and a prairie wind was howling. But wasteland? Look again.
In the last three years, Fargo has begun to reinvent itself as improbably stylish, worldly, even luxurious -- to the point where the mayor has hopes of marketing the city as a vacation destination. Quietly, subversively, Fargo has gone trendy.
Oh, there are still plenty of dank bars where tap beer goes for 75 cents. And yes, a $500,000 condo downtown does sit just a block from the Valley Gun & Pawn Shop. But all along the two main downtown streets, hip restaurants, cafes and galleries beckon.
There's even a martini bar that serves sushi.
OK, it's just once a month. But still. In a stubbornly steak-and-potatoes state, that's noteworthy. Local menus burst with other culinary adventures as well, from dandelion salad to Asian gazpacho with cilantro cream, from rabbit loin to custard made from thorny green durian fruit imported from Vietnam.
"If I had to pick one adjective for what downtown Fargo was like 10 years ago, I would say 'sleazy,' " said Laurie Baker, 50, a yoga teacher. "Now, I would say, 'getting cosmopolitan.' We're not quite there yet. But we're getting there."
To reach this point, the city has spent $9 million to improve downtown's look, primarily by ripping out dingy, three-decade-old awnings that shrouded the sidewalks in perpetual gloom. Even the railroad crossings will be reconfigured, so residents won't have to put up with 85 ear-blasting train whistles a day.
Private investment has been encouraged with a Renaissance Zone. Development in the downtown core is exempt from property tax for five years; owners and tenants enjoy a five-year holiday from state and local income tax.
