Travail to Reboot Beloved South Minneapolis Italian Restaurant

You can’t keep a good pasta down. The Travail Collective continues their rapid expansion into new locations and concepts with a reboot of Italian Eatery (ie), a beloved South Minneapolis spot that closed in June 2024. “It is with great honor and heartfelt anticipation that we pass the baton of our labor of love to be enjoyed for many more years to come under the talented team at Travail,” said Eric and Vanessa Carrara, founders of Italian Eatery, in a statement.

The Travail Collective team will open ie By Travail at the end of January for members and early February for the rest of us.

Photo by Kadi Kaelin

Members? Yes, this is a trend that Travail has been exploring with their most intense supporters. $300 gets you two tickets to the soft opening week, plus a pair of tickets to a membership party and a beer festival to be hosted at Travail’s Graze Food Hall in the North Loop. You’ll get complimentary bubbles for 4 every time you eat at ie. The $600 level doubles that up and throws in tickets to a limoncello making class.

What will the new ie be like? According to the Travail team, it’ll be a lot like the old ie. In fact, I’ve been told the Travail offer to purchase from the previous owners was the only offer that intended to keep the Italian concept in place.

“From the moment we stepped through the doors, we fell in love with the restaurant’s warmth and the neighborhood that made Italian Eatery a local favorite,” said Mike Brown, co-owner of Travail Collective, in a statement.

“Our commitment is simple: keep the spirit alive and serve our community the way it has always been served,” said Bob Gerken, co-owner of Travail Collective. “We are working closely with the previous Italian Eatery team to bring back as many menu favorites as possible and welcome back many of the talented staff.”