The Tap: Restaurant Openings and Closings for Late December

The Tap by James Norton

Banner for the Tap: Food and Drink News

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

  • Babani’s (moved), 32 Fillmore Ave E, St. Paul | A second location for the country’s oldest Kurdish restaurant.
  • 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 | Opens today. Red Cow owner Luke Shimp’s new spot offers “a variety of dishes including handcrafted pizzas, oysters, pasta, fresh salads and more.”
Lucy Hawthorne / Heavy Table
Lucy Hawthorne / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • 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
  • Cafe Alma, 528 University Ave SE, Minneapolis | Drinks, snacks, and meals on the main floor of the new Hotel Alma, and next door the the newly reopened Restaurant Alma.
  • Sum Dem Korean Barbecue, 735 E 48th St, Minneapolis
  • Rustica Cookies & Creamery at the Mall of America
WACSO / Heavy Table
WACSO / Heavy Table

CLOSED / CLOSING:

Joshua Page / Heavy Table
Joshua Page / Heavy Table
  • Piccolo
  • Green Mill (Uptown location) | Closing after 38 years, being replaced by a Red Cow location.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • Harriet Brewing (closed end of November, not January 2017 as planned)
Sarah McGee / Heavy Table
Sarah McGee / Heavy Table
  • Mai Village

COMING UP:

Minneapolis

Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table
Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table
  • 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.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • 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

Nick Fay / Heavy Table
Nick Fay / Heavy Table
  • 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.
  • Brunson’s Pub, 956 Payne Ave, St Paul | Early 2017
  • Pajarito, 605 W 7th St, St. Paul | December 21 | Via Dara: Being opened by Tim McKee acolytes “Tyge Nelson and Stephan Hesse, most recently of Chino Latino and Libertine, respectively.”
  • 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.
  • Revival, 525 Selby Ave, St. Paul (former Cheeky Monkey space) | Dec. 25 | A second location for the popular fried chicken spinoff of Corner Table. The original location will also be expanding and offering takeout.
  • 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.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
  • 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

  • 1.2.3. Pasta, 6508 Cahill Ave, Inver Grove Heights | Delayed by parking and permitting issues.
  • 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 a 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.