Eden Prairie Center just got a culinary shot in the arm.

Restaurateur Gene Suh confirmed Wednesday that he has signed a lease at the suburban mall for the long-vacant TGI Friday space.

Suh, the force behind Minneapolis' Lyndale Tap House and Valley Tap House in Apple Valley, will open a similar concept for the Fridays space this September -- just in time for football season and holiday shopping. That means at least 40 different kinds of beer on tap and a menu featuring "chef-driven comfort food." And, it will includes the budding chain's popular Baltimore-style pit barbeque, Suh said. (Suh is also a partner for the downtown cowboy bar, Whisky Park.)

The new restaurant, called the Prairie Tap House, will be adjacent to Wildfire and Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano at the mall.

Suh said he was attracted to the Eden Prairie because there's a need for a casual restaurant concept in the market. Plus, he added, "the demographics there are really strong."

Janet Moore covers commercial real estate for the Star Tribune.