(Updated 12/12/2017)
We tend to focus on closings. This week, it was Lucia’s. Last week, it was St. Clair Broiler. Big-name closings in 2017: So far, we’ve lost Victory 44, Upton 43 (supposedly relocating to the North Loop—we’ll see), Haute Dish, Brewer’s Table at Surly, and Piccolo. But there are big-name openings as well. Generally, I think our closings are replaced by openings, and our openings outpace the closings, and my list bears this out. This is an inexact science, but I figured I’d compile this list and update it continually all year. As always, I encourage your input.
NOTE: This list is of Minneapolis and St. Paul restaurants only—not suburban spots.
CLOSINGS in 2017
1. Victory 44
2. Upton 43/Dirty Bird (Upton moving to North Loop)
3. Haute Dish
4. Brewer’s Table at Surly
5. Strip Club Meat & Fish
6. Bombay Bistro
7. Birdie at Nighthawks
8. Arnellia’s
9. Prairie Dogs
10. Hennepin Steam Room
11. Dragon House
12. Toast Wine Bar
13. SW Craft
14. Dulono’s
15. Mona
16. Tinto Cocina
17. Marin (now Mercy)
18. Marche (now Mercado)
19. Sunrise Inn (becoming Doug Flicker’s Bull’s Horn Food)
20. Grand Café (Now Jamie Malone & Erik Anderson’s Grand Café)
21. Café Maude (becoming Kim Bartmann/Asher Miller’s Book Club)
22. Ristorante Luci (now Bar Brigade)
23. Devil’s Advocate (building sold, moved into Dan Kelly’s)
24. Piccolo (now Tenant)
25. Tanpopo (Kyatchi moving in)
26. Bradstreet Crafthouse (building sold)
27. Jerusalem’s (building to be demolished)
28. Loring Pasta Bar (former managers turning it into “Loring Rx”)
29. Trotter’s (now Tillie’s Farmhouse)
30. Red’s Savoy (St. Paul)
31. Butcher Block
32. St. Clair Broiler
33. The Craftsman (rebooting as The Beacon)
34. Obento-Ya (becming Ramen Kazaama)
35. Third Bird (became Bearcat)
36. Bearcat (became the Bird)
37. Lucia’s
38. Coup d’etat
39. Evergreen Chinese
40. Bulldog N.E. (reopening as Stray Dog)
41. Puperseria la Palmera
42. Triple Rock Social Club
43. Fabulous Fern’s
44. Golden Deli
45. Byte
46. Muffuletta
47. Bottle Rocket
48. Original on 42nd
OPENINGS IN 2017
1. 510 Lounge
2. Bad Waitress (Northeast Minneapolis)
3. Kado No Mise/Kaiseki Furukawa
4. Crisp & Green (North Loop)
5. Jun
6. Bearcat (now closed)
7. The Early Bird
8. Can Can Wonderland
9. Smith & Porter
10. Cardigan Donuts
11. Geno’s Sandwich Shop
12. Mercado by Earl Giles
13. The Cove (poke)
14. The Lexington
15. Rah’MN
16. Brunson’s Pub
17. J. Selby’s
18. Bottle Rocket
19. Randle’s
20. Byte
21. Mercy
22. Bar Brigade
23. Tenant
24. Grand Café
25. Gray Duck Tavern
26. Old Southern BBQ Smokehouse
27. Delicata Pizza
28. StormKing Barbeque
29. Rise Bagel
30. The Original on 42nd
31. The Lynhall
32. Tavern 333
33. Red’s Savoy NE
34. Bushel & Peck
35. Hop Cat MPLS
36. Hennepin Steam Room
37. Seventh Street Truck Park
38. Bardo
39. NOLO Kitchen and Bar
40. Ramen Kazaama (St. Paul)
41. Lucy’s Ethiopian Cuisine
42. Hygge Café (St. Paul)
43. Emperor of India (formerly Prairie Dogs)
44. St. Paul Bagelry (Minneapolis)
45. Tillie’s Farmhouse.
46. Dalton & Wade
47. OctoFish Bar
48. Rebel Donut Bar
49. Waldmann Brewery & Wurstery
50. Haskell’s Wine Bar
51. Stray Dog (was Bulldog NE)
52. Bull’s Horn (Doug Flicker’s bar)
53. Twin Cities 400 Tavern
54. Lucky Oven Bakery
55. Martina
56. Five Watt Northeast (food in this coffee shop)
57. Book Club (former Café Maude)
58. Pourhouse Dinkytown (was the library bar)
59. Salty Tart (St. Paul)
60. Hasty Tasty (former falafel king)
61. Hai Hai
62. Original on 42nd
63. Tilt Pinball Bar
64. The Naughty Greek (2nd St. Paul Location)
