Taher Set to Open Alaska Eatery in St. Louis Park

IN THE NEWS: Taher Inc., which serves more than 200,000 meals a day in cafeterias at schools, corporate headquarters and the like, is getting into the restaurant business, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports. Its first restaurant, Wayzata Eatery and Wine Bar, opened four months ago, and Alaska Eatery will debut in the former Shelly’s [...]

‘Gourmet’ Lauds Spoonriver, ‘Pioneer’ Lucia Watson

Gourmet magazine’s October 2007 issue features a guide to “America’s Best Farm-to-Table Restaurants.” gourmet.com:
RESTAURANTS WITH FARM CONNECTIONS: 2nd Street Bistro, Livingston, MT; Amherst Chinese Food, Amherst, MA; Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN; Crook’s Corner, Chapel Hill, NC; Eve, Alexandria, VA; La Provence, Lacombe, LA; Lantern, Chapel Hill, NC; Pacific’O and I’o, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii; Tree House [...]

Downtown’s Old Chicago Closes Doors

IN THE NEWS: The Old Chicago restaurant in downtown Minneapolis was to close Sept. 22, citing declining traffic, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports. The restaurant, which is owned by Louisville, Colo.-based Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc. has been in business in the Butler North building for 13 years. minneapolis.bizjournals.com … The Star Tribune’s Jon Tevlin [...]

Margaux Closing Adds to St. Paul’s List

IN THE NEWS: The Pioneer Press’ Kathie Jenkins reports on the Sept. 13 closing of owner Margaret Dolan’s Margaux bistro at 9th and Robert streets in downtown St. Paul. It’s the third high-profile eatery to close in downtown St. Paul in recent months, following Fhima’s in June and A Rebours in early September … Nancy [...]

Meritage Takes Over for Closed A Rebours

IN THE NEWS: The Pioneer Press’ Kathie Jenkins visits Saji Ya (695 Grand Ave. St. Paul; 651-292-0444) and reports both the closing of the much acclaimed French bistro A Rebours restaurant in downtown St. Paul and a new restaurant in its spot: Russell Klein, former chef at W.A. Frost in St. Paul, and his wife, [...]

Restaurants Set Sept. 8 Flood Relief Night

IN THE NEWS: The Star Tribune’s Rick Nelson awards two stars in reviewing Landmarc Grill (405 S. 8th St., Minneapolis, 612-455-1204). … Nelson also notes, “Sept. 8 is going to be a Big Night Out for Twin Cities restaurants supporting relief efforts for family farmers in flood-ravaged southeastern Minnesota. Dine out at Lucia’s Restaurant, Nicollet [...]

East River Market Converts to Chindian

IN THE NEWS: The Pioneer Press‘ Kathie Jenkins stops by the new Obento-Ya. … Nancy Ngo reports Nina Wong has converted her East River Market in Minneapolis into a Chinese and Indian restaurant named Chindian, and the former Singapore in Maplewood is now Vietnamese eatery Bambu, from restaurant newcomer Yin Thon. twincities.com … City Pages‘ [...]

Hard Times Cafe Has a Hard Summer

IN THE NEWS: The Minnesota Daily features Hard Times Cafe, which closed its doors for more than two hours for the first time ever this summer to replace its ventilation system. The collectively owned West Bank coffee shop is known as much for its vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu as it is for operating nearly 24 [...]

‘Bon Appetit’ Spotlights Lucia’s Recipes

Bon Appetit magazine’s September 2007 Restaurant issue features three finalists in a list of quintessential versions of six American classics: pizza, steak, tacos, hamburgers, fried chicken, and ribs. Winner will be announced on the Food Network on Aug. 18 (Good Eats with Alton Brown, 6 and 10 pm CDT). The finalists:
PIZZA: Pizzeria [...]

Bridge Collapse Affects Bars, Restaurants

IN THE NEWS: All of the retail and hospitality businesses near the junction of Minneapolis’ Interstate-35W and Washington Avenue South were operating the next morning following Aug. 1st’s bridge collapse, although the impact on their sales were mixed, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reports. Some bars and restaurants in Minneapolis’ Seven Corners area saw customer [...]