The Lowbrow (opening in early January)
4244 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis
The Kingfield neighborhood of Minneapolis is getting its latest addition, this time in gastropub The Lowbrow. Owners Heather Bray, an Ike’s veteran, and chef Jodi Ayres, formerly of Moose and Sadie’s, expect to open around Jan. 4. The pair has kicked around the concept since their days working together at the Birchwood Cafe in the early 2000s.
Dinner and weekend brunch is first up, with a lunch expansion planned in the spring. Bray said breakfast was possible down the road.
“Jodi will be creating amazing scratch comfort food that’s tavern-focused, like burgers and fries, chili and nachos,” Bray said. “Jodi and I met at the Birchwood and began talking about places we like to eat at, like neighborhood taverns. But the problem is, you can’t find food at those places that doesn’t come out of a freezer bag.”
Brunch will consist of what Bray called “Wisconsin-style” hash browns with cheese and onions, pancakes, and scrambles. Ayres is using her contacts from working at the Birchwood and the Wedge Co-op to create a local supply chain from the likes of Fischer Farms, Larry Schultz, Riverbend Farm, and Thousand Hills Cattle Co. The beer-and-wine-only drink menu will include strictly local brews.
“We kind of imagined it being one of those Wisconsin-style bars that are hard to find in Minneapolis,” Bray said. “It’s just exciting to be first-time entrepreneurs and be able to support other entrepreneurs.”
Turtle Bread (coming in early 2011)
4205 E 34th St, Minneapolis | turtlebread.com
Annette Colon, a 10-year veteran of Lucia’s, will helm the kitchen at the in-progress Turtle Bread in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. Turtle Bread’s Dina Carpenter said the new location’s formula for breakfast and lunch would be similar to the other two South Minneapolis spots, and dinner would feature the more-elegant approach of Turtle Bread-connected restaurants like Levain and Trattoria Tosca.
“It’s nice to have an outsider, a fresh face who isn’t encumbered by working here under any previous context,” Carpenter said of Colon. “It’s nice to get a new perspective.”
Turtle Bread Longfellow is shooting for a January opening.
NOW OPEN
- Hazel’s Northeast, 2859 Johnson St NE, Minneapolis | 612.788.4778 | hazelsnortheast.com
- Meritage (open again after brief remodel), 410 St Peter St, St Paul | 651.222.5670 | meritage-stpaul.com
- Falafel King, 1851 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis | falafelking.com
- North Washington Cafe, 700 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis | 612.236.9444 | northwashingtoncafe.com
- People’s Organic Coffee & Wine Cafe, 3545 Galleria, Edina (near Crate & Barrel) | peoplesorganiccoffee.com
- Buffalo Wild Wings, 2001 SE University Ave, Minneapolis | 612.617.9464 | buffalowildwings.com
- In Season, 5416 Penn Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.926.0105 | inseasonrestaurant.com
- Blackbird, 3800 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.823.4790 | blackbirdmpls.com
- Pinstripes, 3849 Gallagher Dr, Edina. | 952.835.6437 | pinstripes.com
- The Inn, 89 S 10th St, Minneapolis | 612.886.2377 | inneats.com
- Mozza Mia, 3910 W 50th St, Edina | 952.288.2882 | mozzamia.com
- Pizzeria Lola, 5557 Xerxes Ave S, Minneapolis | 612-424-8338 | pizzerialola.com
- Psycho Suzi’s, 1900 Marshall St NE | 612.788.9069 | psychosuzis.com
- BLVD Kitchen and Bar, 11544 W Wayzata Blvd, Minnetonka | 763-398-3200 | blvdkitchen.com
- Filfilah Restaurant and Grill, 4301 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis
- Steepery Tea Bar, 783 Radio Dr, Woodbury | 651.788.9759 | teagardeninc.com
- Dogwood Coffee Co., 3001 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis | dogwoodcoffee.com
- Prairie Ale House, 16396 Wagner Way, Eden Prairie | 952.949.9700 | prairiealehouse.com
- Purple Sandpiper, 8405 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington | 952.888.1429 | purplesandpiper.com
- Mendoberri, 730 Main St, Mendota Heights | 651.209.3270 | mendoberri.com
- Town Hall Tap, 4810 Chicago Ave S, Minneapolis | 612.822.1449 | townhallbrewery.com
- Darbar India Grill, 1221 W Lake St, Minneapolis | 612.822.3300 | darbarindiagrill.com
- Gorkha Palace, 23 4th St NE, Minneapolis | 612.886.3451 | gorkhapalace.com
- Scusi, 1806 St Clair Ave, St. Paul | 651.789.7007 | scusistpaul.com
- Jack’s, 818 W 46th St, Minneapolis | 612.825.2183 | jacksmpls.com
- Marrakech Moroccan Cafe & Grill, 1839 Central Ave NE | 612.788.0405
- Amu’s Madras Cafe, 4920 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights | 763.571.5576
- Stanley’s Bar Room, 2500 University Ave NE, Minneapolis | 612.788.2529 | stanleysbarroom.com
- Hibachi Buffet, 111 E Lake St, Minneapolis | 612.825.3099
- The Hanger Room, 310 Stillwater Rd, Willernie | 651.429.1477 | thehangerroom.com
- Sunshine Pizza, 1556 Selby Ave, St Paul 55104 | 651.209.9299 | sunshinepizzacafe.com
- Afro Deli and Coffee (Inside the African Development Center), 1931 S Fifth St, Minneapolis | 612.871.5555
CLOSED / CLOSING:
- Ringo, 5331 W 16th St, St Louis Park (closing Dec. 18)
- Zahtar, 755 Prairie Center Dr, Eden Prairie (in Lifetime Fitness)
- Cafe Bonxai, 1613 University Ave W, St. Paul
- Palomino, 825 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
- Sauce Pizza & Wine, 1610 West End Blvd, St. Louis Park
- Ciento Tequila Bar Mexican Kitchen, 6440 Wayzata Blvd, Golden Valley
- The Vegetarian, 4022 Central Ave NE, Minnneapolis
- Madwoman Bakeshop and Foodery, 4747 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis
COMING UP:
- Heidi‘s, 2903 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, opening Jan. 11 | 612.354.3512 | heidismpls.com
- Tilia, 2726 W 43rd St, Minneapolis. In former Rice Paper space, a new restaurant from Steven Brown.
- Crave, 825 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis (former Palomino) | craveamerica.com
- Sweets Bakeshop, 4747 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis | sweetsbakeshop.com
- The Lowry Cafe, 2207 Lowry Ave N, Minneapolis
- The Herb Box, 755 Prairie Center Dr, Eden Prairie | theherbbox.com
- Cocina del Barrio, 50th and France, Edina | barriotequila.com
- Masu Sushi & Robata, 330 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
- The Lowbrow, 4244 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis
- Ahern’s Irish Pub, 126 5th St N, Minneapolis
- Blue Door Pub, 26th St and Nicollet, Minneapolis
- Pat’s Tap, 3510 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis
- Naviya’s, 2812 W 43rd St, Minneapolis
- Turtle Bread, 4205 E 34th St, Minneapolis | turtlebread.com
- American Burger Bar, 800 LaSalle Place (8th and Hennepin), Minneapolis | americanburgerbar.com
- Patriot’s Tavern, 145 New England Pl, Stillwater. Will be owned by Brent and Brian Pilrain of Roma Market in Willernie. Opening is currently set for January, 2011
- Sun Street Breads, 4600 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis. A brick-and-mortar location for Solveig Tofte’s popular offerings opening March 2011 | sunstreetbreads.com
- Cranky’s Bicycle Bar, E Lake St, Minneapolis, opening spring 2011
- Betty’s Pies, Mall of America
- Little Szechuan, Shops at West End, St. Louis Park | littleszechuan.com
- La Crepe Nanou, Shops at West End, St. Louis Park | lacrepenanou.com
- Huey’s 24/7 Diner, Shops at West End, St. Louis Park | hueys247diner.com
- The Wine Loft, Shops at West End, St. Louis Park | thewineloft.net
- Burger Jones, 1617 County Road 42, Burnsville. Opening spring 2011 | burgerjones.com
- Lucy’s, Franklin Ave and 31st St, Minneapolis
- Salono Grill, 28th and Blaisdell, Minneapolis
- Pizza Ranch, 1220 Highway 25 S, Suite 104, Monticello | 763.295.6500 | pizzaranch.com
- YO!Sushi | Company says five metro locations coming, first in Minneapolis in 2011 | yosushi.com
- Andiamo Italian Ristorante, 1629 Lena Ct, Eagan
As excited as I am for the new Turtle Bread in Longfellow, it’s hard not to be jealous of Kingfield these days. Wow.
Will someone please open up a beer bar in Longfellow. 40 taps at the Longfellow Grill is nice, and I can’t wait to sit outside on their patio this spring, but we need a beer bar. And no, Merlin’s Rest doesn’t count.
Moe, have you tried Tracy’s Saloon up in Seward?
Yes I have, and while I do like it, if I’m going to go that far, I’ll just go to the Blue Nile or another mile north to Acadia. Or I’m actually closer to Busters on 28th, but I’d love to have a beer bar closer to home, so I didn’t have to cross Hiawatha or Lake. But that’s just me being picky. At least we have good coffee in Longfellow.
Back to Turtle Bread, I’m surprised they are going with a dinner menu similar to that of Levain and Trattoria Tosca, instead of a pizza place like Pizza Biga. Guess they heard Aaron was moving away to Hawaii.
After talking to a few peeps in the know, the menu for the evening Turtle Bread in Longfellow is going to be comfort food with prices ranging from $6 – $18 dollars at dinner time. A wood burning oven is in the works for pizzas and other items.
Wow I’m loving South Minneapolis right about now. Hopefully some of the Kingfield/Nicollet Ave fun can spread across the freeway, although the Town Hall Tap is a great new addition.