Photo courtesy The Strip Club Meat and Fish Facebook
When I asked why more restaurants aren’t closing, I didn’t mean that I wanted my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities to close. But alas, it is. Owners Tim Niver and J.D. Fratzke announced today that The Strip Club Meat & Fish in St. Paul’s Dayton’s Bluff area is closing in a couple months. What happened? They have decided not to renew their lease, so they’ll close in five months, closing regular operation July 1, 2017. In a time where awesome restaurants designed for the neighborhood are opening up all over town, The Strip Club is a bit of an outlier. It’s a destination in a neighborhood. And after nearly nine years, the owners decided it was time to shut it down.
Things are going well for both Niver and Fratzke: their Lowertown spot Saint Dinette is constantly busy and serving up fantastic food. Niver’s busy with Mucci’s and working to develop a line of frozen Mucci’s products. Fratzke is consulting with Red River Kitchen and the MSP airport Escape Lounge. The Strip Club also helped propel the careers of many of the key people behind Tattersall Distilling: Dan Oskey rose to fame behind the bar at The Strip Club before helping create Joia Soda’s flavors, and then launching the busiest craft spirit distillery in the state.
My wife and I have The Strip Club to thank for some of our best friends in town. We sort of picked up Kethan and Lauren while sitting at the bar. We were eating, drinking, laughing and so were they. Tim Niver and his wife Christy have also become close friends. And J.D. Fratzke and I have solved many of the world’s problems sitting just outside his kitchen. It’s one of the reasons I almost never write about The Strip Club—we became friends long before I started covering food, and I don’t want people to think I’m trying to favor people who I like. But I love those people. I love the hospitality and the warmth and the passion, and I’m really sad that The Strip Club will be no more.
Did I mention they’re not closing now! They’re not. They’ve watched different approaches to the closing announcement. Do you give two or three weeks like Saffron did, and just get crushed to the finish? Do you give a couple months like Heartland did? They decided to give five months. Use your gift cards, come visit your friends, maybe pick up some new ones. They want to see another restaurant go into the space, so they wanted to give time for the landlord to find a new tenant. They also want people to know they’re still open until the start of summer.
Some other changes: Sunday, February 12th will be the final regular brunch. They’ll do Mother’s Day and Easter brunch but that’s it. They’re going to be closed Sundays and Mondays, so the new hours will be Tuesday – Saturday evenings from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
The Strip Club Meat & Fish
378 Maria Ave., St. Paul
651-793-6247
domeats.com
Please see below for the official announcement from The Strip Club Meat & Fish:
To our friends and patrons:
The Strip Club Meat and Fish has enjoyed nearly ten years of operation in Dayton’s Bluff and Saint Paul. It has been a fabulous run, however, we have decided not to renew our lease ending in July, 2017.
We’re Not Done! We are announcing our closure now so that our friends and those who still haven’t joined us might be able to do so over the next 5 months. Get your unused gift cards out and join us at one of our tables until July 1st 2017.
We retain possession of The Strip Club space until the end of July. Our restaurant will still be available to large groups for either business or personal dinners and celebrations until the end of the month. Also, we invite our aspiring restaurateur peers an opportunity to host pop ups in this unique and special location.
Other changes are occurring along with our announcement. Our final brunch service will be held on Sunday February 12, 2017. We will be serving Mother’s Day and Easter brunches by reservation. Our new hours of operation will be Tuesday through Saturday evenings from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. We will be closed on Sundays and Mondays.
We are commonly associated with what we lovingly call our “sister restaurants” Saint Dinette and Mucci’s Italian. We are a family of restaurants by nature and ethos but are independently owned and operated and both continue to be healthy and happy businesses. We appreciate your ongoing support and patronage.
THANK YOU!!! We have been truly blessed to own and operate such a wonderful place in the amazing city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Your trust and support of us will be an enduring force behind our progression as professionals and humans. We look forward to providing excellent food and service to you until our final night of service on July 1st. Come see us.
Love,
The Strip Club Meat and Fish
