Well-regarded chefs Erik Anderson (formerly of Porter & Frye and Sea Change, pictured below) and Jamie Malone (Sea Change and Barrio, above) are the new owners of the slowly going-out-of-business Grand Cafe. This move has been publicly known about for quite some time, and there has been speculation that they’d transform Grand Cafe into their long-discussed project Brut, but that’s not to be – “This is the Grand Cafe by Erik and Jamie,” they write in a press release about the takeover, below.
We are excited to share that we are the new owners of the Grand Cafe! We are still looking for the perfect spot for Brut, but sometimes you follow that path that life puts in front of you. When we were presented with the opportunity to take over the Grand, we started dreaming about what we can do with it once we applied our creativity and experience. We know it will be incredible, and we could not pass it up.
The Grand Cafe has always been a hidden gem; a humble place that speaks to real life, and we want to keep it that way. This is not Brut. This is the Grand Cafe by Erik and Jamie. The space has a patina that has taken 70 years to build, and we can’t wait to add our personalities to it! It’s exciting for us to think about the idea of walking in to an unassuming South Minneapolis restaurant and being happily surprised by a greeting from Bill Summerville, who will be assisting us to ensure our guests get the best possible experience ( and wine!), as well as food from two nationally acclaimed chefs.
Guests can look forward to seeing many of the beloved brunch classics on the menu with a few of our own updates. As for dinner, guests will see our takes on forgotten French classics as well as modern and technique-driven surprises. The sweet, and humble, nature of the restaurant will stay, no flash, just a bunch of people who love cooking, wine and taking care of people, working together in a little neighborhood restaurant.
All our best,
Jamie & Erik
Look forward to our taking over the following social media accounts very soon..
Instagram- Grandcafe_mpls
Twitter- @grandCafe_mpls
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Grand-Cafe-86439690980/
As a word of caution, I submit the following:
Jamie was in the kitchen the night of the first “official” closing. I had ordered cassoulet; the server came back to me, stating that the duck confit was “off” and that they would make a modification and reduce the price.
What arrived was a not-quite-hot bowl of, basically, bean soup with sausage. No substitution of any kind for the confit. It was disappointing at best, a small portion, and at the end I was still charged full price. I didn’t make a fuss as the server was overworked and I didn’t want to upset Mary…
It will take a lot to get me back there.