Provided
Not every great restaurant in the Twin Cities is connected to another great restaurant, but most of them are. Tim McKee’s La Belle Vie brought us Mike DeCamp, who now leads Jester’s restaurants (P.S. Steak, Butcher & The Boar, Parlour, and Bourough), Matt Bickford (South Lyndale Liquors), Michelle Gayer (Taher corporate chef), Diane Moua (Diane’s Place coming soon), and Tyge Nelson (Pajarito & Lucky’s 13).
For cocktail talent, Tim Niver and The Strip Club brought us Nick Kosevich (Mr. Paul’s Supper Club), Jesse Held (Earl Giles), Dan Oskey (Tattersall), and Tim Leary (Chip’s Clubhouse), among others.
Many chefs trace their beginnings to Parasole’s restaurants, or D’Amico Cucina. Today we’re seeing the next generation, including some key members of Gavin Kaysen’s Demi and Bellecour opening Bûcheron, and now there’s news that a Daniel del Prado chef is going on his own to open a restaurant in August.
Of course, del Prado traces his local culinary start to Issac Becker’s Bar La Grassa and Burch Steak. Now his culinary director, Jeff Watson, is going on his own. Minari Restaurant will open in the former Erte Restaurant space in Northeast Minneapolis.
It can be confusing to track the ownership of all the del Prado efforts, and he is involved in Minari, along with the team behind Porzana. DDP and Ryan Burnet own Porzana, DDP owns Martina, Colita and Rosalita, and the chef partners with Innerbloom Hospitality (Aaron Switz and Mikael Asp) who own Macanda, Josefina, and Layline.
The announcement of Minari, a Korean-influenced, East Asian restaurant with dumplings, noodles, a Japanese charcoal grill with snacks, and small dishes and a dim sum-style brunch, included news that the next chapter of the Porzana restaurant group will be launching the next generation. “They will promote new and up-and-coming chefs and their creative concepts, helping with logistics and funding capital,” the news release said.
If you’re looking for a sign of a strong culinary community, this is the biggest one I can see. Talented people come to work for Gavin and for Danni, just like talented people came to work for Issac Becker and Tim McKee. Now that next generation is launching their own spots. I, for one, can’t wait.
Minari Restaurant, 323 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis, coming August 2024
Jason DeRusha
