Bummer: Cafe Twenty Eight owners Todd and Linda Haug are calling it quits.

"It's a bittersweet day," said Linda Haug. "The restaurant has been a wonderful learning experience. But I'm ready for new and different challenges."

That includes diving headlong into Surly Brewing Co., where Todd is head brewer. The Brooklyn Center-based craft brewery is in major expansion mode, looking to open the state's first destination brewery, where beer can be sold by the pint.

"I got to be part of a site selection meeting yesterday," said Linda. "That was pretty exciting. Beer has been our life. We met at a brewery."

The couple had hoped to sell their labor-of-love restaurant to an employee, but it was not to be. They learned over the weekend that their landlord decided to go in another direction at the landmark building, a former firehouse. Now the Haugs' goal is to find replacement jobs for their 17 employees, many of whom have worked for the Haugs for five or more years.

The impending end of the Twenty Eight doesn't necessarily mean the end of the Haugs' life in restaurants. "Todd and I have an idea that we'd like to do, and we've been looking at it for years," said Linda. "It's location-specific, and we always keep looking." Just not now. "The new brewery is probably 18 months away, but it's going to be completely time-consuming," she said.

The cozy 10-year-old Linden Hills restaurant will remain open through the end of the year, which means it's not too late to drop in for the fabulous Friday night fish fry, a friendly Sunday brunch (get the excellent chilaquiles) or a casual lunch or dinner. And a beer or two, naturally.

"We're going to keep doing what we've always done," said Linda. "It just happens that we now have an end date."