This week in the Tap: local restaurant openings and closings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area and beyond.
The Tap is the metro area’s comprehensive restaurant buzz roundup, so if you see a new or newly shuttered restaurant, or anything that’s “coming soon,” email Tap editor James Norton at editor@heavytable.com.
NOW OPEN
- Pajarito, 605 W 7th St, St. Paul | Via Dara: Opened by Tim McKee acolytes “Tyge Nelson and Stephan Hesse, most recently of Chino Latino and Libertine, respectively.” Receiving early accolades.
- Revival, 525 Selby Ave, St. Paul (former Cheeky Monkey space) | A second location for the popular fried chicken spinoff of Corner Table. The original location will also be expanding and offering takeout.
- Jellybean and Julia’s, 530 W Main St, Anoka | Barbecue and breakfast!
- Khun Nai Thai, 2523 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis | A new spot in the old Krungthep Thai space, opened by former Krungthep employees.
- Esker Grove, Walker Art Center | A Doug Flicker / Culinaire project is the latest crack at a dining solution for the finicky Walker space.
- Red Rabbit, 201 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis | Red Cow owner Luke Shimp’s new spot offers “a variety of dishes including handcrafted pizzas, oysters, pasta, fresh salads and more.”
- Young Joni, 165 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis | A new wood-fired pizza and Korean spot by Pizzeria Lola / Hello Pizza boss Ann Kim. Here’s our (four-star) review.
- Dumpling, 4004 Minnehaha Ave S, Minneapolis | Not to be confused with Mrs. Dumpling at Lyn-Lake. Some love for their food in the Hot Five.
- Tullibee, 300 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis | Nordic fare from nationally known chef Grae Nonas at the Hewing hotel. We took a look at the food and beverages here.
- Punch Bowl Social, The Shops at West End, St. Louis Park
- Tropicana, 2585 W 7th St, St. Paul | Potentially intriguing: “Specially for Ethiopians and Eritreans you will feel like back home,” as per the Facebook page.
- Scratch Burgers and Beer, 408 3rd Ave N, Minneapolis
CLOSED / CLOSING:
- Green Spoon
- Piccolo
- Green Mill (Uptown location) | Closing after 38 years, being replaced by a Red Cow location.
- Prairie Dogs | Closing at the end of the month. Here’s our rave review.
COMING UP:
Minneapolis
- Five Watt (Roastery and Cafe), 2904 Harriet Ave S, Minneapolis | 2017 | Former Uptown Imports location.
- Mrs. Dumpling, 700 W Lake St, Minneapolis | Early 2017 | Not to be confused with Dumpling in Longfellow.
- The Cove, 1320 5th St SE, Minneapolis | Late January | Can poke succeed where crudo failed? Let’s find out.
- 510 Lounge & Private Dining, 510 Groveland Ave, Minneapolis | Summer 2017 | Private event space and open-to-the-public lounge run by Chef Don Saunders (The Kenwood).
- Bad Waitress (second location), 700 Central Ave NE | Early 2017
- Barbecue Joint Name TBA, 816 Lowry Ave NE, Minneapolis | 2017 | A Kansas-City-style barbecue place “with no chairs and tables” opened by some combination of the Travail team.
- Kaiseki Furukawa, 30 1st St N, Minneapolis | January 2017 | Classic kaiseki (progressive small courses) dining. We can’t wait.
- Brut, Location TBD | 2017? | With all the culinary firepower of Erik Anderson (above) and Jamie Malone, Brut promises exciting things, but the lead-up has been disturbingly long. And now Jamie Malone is cooking at Grand Cafe, so there’s that.
- Crisp and Green, 428 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis (former Sapor space) | Spring 2017 | Owned by restaurateur Ryan Burnet (Burch, Bar La Grassa); menu will feature salads and grain bowls. A Wayzata location, at 755 E Lake St, just opened.
- Utepils (formerly Bryn Mawr) Brewing, 225 Thomas Ave N, Minneapolis | Winter
St. Paul
- Barrel Theory Beer Company, 248 E 7th St, St. Paul | Early 2017 | As per the Growler: “A partnership between Surly Brewing Company’s former director of technology Brett Splinter, former Surly brewer Timmy Johnson, and CPA Todd Tibesar.” Our preview is here.
- The Lexington | Early 2017? | After a years-long odyssey, the newest incarnation of the Lexington seems to be forthcoming based on recent hires.
- Rah’Mn, 300 Snelling Ave S, St. Paul | February | A new Chipotle-style build-your-0wn ramen restaurant by Tryg Truelson, formerly of Tryg’s.
- Brunson’s Pub, 956 Payne Ave, St Paul | Early 2017
- J Selby’s, 169 Victoria St N, St. Paul | “hoping to open by January 2017” | Vegan restaurant that prefers to call itself “plant-based.”
- Keg and Case revitalization of the Schmidt Brewery, 928 W 7th St, St. Paul | Summer 2017 | Featuring restaurants by the teams behind Corner Table, Hola Arepa, and Five Watt.
- Bottle Rocket, 1806 St. Clair Ave, St. Paul | Soon | A reboot by the Blue Plate Restaurant Company of the former Scusi space with craft cocktails. Now hiring, which means open doors may be imminent.
- 11 Wells Millwright Cocktail Room, Historic Hamm’s Brewery, St. Paul | Winter | From the website: “We’ll have a full fledged cocktail room as well as a restaurant so come hungry and thirsty.”
Greater Twin Cities Area and Beyond
- Copperwing Distillery, 6409 Cambridge St, St. Louis Park | February
- Station Pizzeria, 13008 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka | Feb. 17 | The latest from restaurateur Ryan Burnet (Barrio, Bar La Grassa, Crisp and Green).
- Baja Haus, 830 E Lake St, Wayzata | January 2017 | A second restaurant by Billy Tserenbat of Sushi Fix, focused on Mexican seafood and scratch margaritas.
- Bellecour, 739 E Lake Street, Wayzata (former Blue Point Location) | Spring 2017 | A second restaurant for the much-heralded chef owner of Spoon and Stable. This one will be French-brasserie style as per Rick Nelson.
- Oakhold Farmhouse Brewery (formerly Oude Oak) Midway Township | 2017 | Construction has started for this new sour beer-only brewery planned for just south of Duluth.
The Tap is the Heavy Table’s guide to area restaurant openings, closings, and other major events. The Tap is compiled and published biweekly by the Heavy Table. If you have tips for The Tap, please email James Norton at editor@heavytable.com.