Talk about a January surprise: After nearly a decade of serving fried chicken and one of the state’s best burgers, Revival is no more. On Instagram, owner Nick Rancone announced: “With a heavy heart, we must say goodbye to Revival.”
In the comment replies, he explained that the South Minneapolis, St. Paul, and St. Louis Park locations all had their last days of operation on Sunday, Jan. 19.

Photo by Jason DeRusha
In an interview this morning, Rancone told me: “We are unable to see a path forward and be financially responsible to our staff and core costs.” There’s no doubt that the restaurant environment is challenged right now—people are dining out with less frequency, food costs are skyrocketing, as are labor costs.
Rancone declined to point to just one thing, but it’s no secret that they bet big on a fine dining restaurant (In Bloom) and a barbecue concept inside St. Paul’s Keg & Case Food Hall. Keg & Case turned out to be a financial train wreck. They also had a Revival Smoked Meats in The Market At Malcolm Yards that is also closed.
“There are a lot of economic factors that played into our decision, but ultimately our hand was forced and this is a move we had to make, not wanted to make,” he said.
Nick Rancone and Thomas Boemer created Revival after working together to reboot and revitalize Corner Table in 2013. Revival opened in 2015, with people lining up for their original and Tennessee hot fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and Johnny Cakes. In 2016, they opened in St. Paul and in the Tex-A-Tonka shopping center in St. Louis Park in 2021. Late last year, they reconceived the St. Paul location to be Bar Revival, with Chicago-style tavern pizza and Italian beef.
“We hung in as long as we could,” Boemer told me, adding, “nothing lasts forever. We go out with gratitude and thanks for what this community has given us. So many amazing opportunities and memories.”
Employees are left scrambling, as about 100 people were informed via e-mail this morning that the restaurants were all closed for good. “The situation was untenable and the no-notice was unavoidable due to economic factors,” said Rancone. He said that all employees will be paid in full for the work they’ve done, “better to pay for the work done than risk the ability to pay for future work.”
I have heard from people who bought Revival gift cards over the past couple weeks, a common challenge when a restaurant goes out of business. Unfortunately, there’s typically no recourse, although if you bought a gift card over the last couple days with a credit card, I would contest the charges with your credit card company.
No word as to what Boemer or Rancone will do going forward, but they’ve been a force in the Twin Cities food scene for 12 years.