Counter Intelligence: Dream comes true with Sanctuary

Last update: March 14, 2007 - 4:13 PM

Dream comes true with Sanctuary

Remember Michael Kutscheid? He's the guy who, back in the mid-'90s, greeted guests at his downtown Minneapolis restaurant, Kapoochi's, in flamboyant costumes borrowed from the Guthrie. The cuisine was equally imaginative: cutting-edge Euro-Japanese fusion. But a crooked bookkeeper bankrupted the restaurant, and Kutscheid lost everything. Since then, Kutscheid has toiled away at local restaurants (most recently Martini Blu and Babalu), dreaming of a comeback.

That dream is scheduled to come true sometime this summer, when Sanctuary opens at 903 Washington Av. S., Minneapolis, with Kutscheid as general manager and part-owner. Kutscheid promises an upscale bistro with an intimate, old-world feel, late hours and a "seafood-driven" menu. "If you were to take the style of Charlie Trotter and Bobby Flay, and give it a Chinese/French Mediterranean expression, you would have Sanctuary," Kutscheid said. We can't wait.

Sidney's goes Greek

A second Christos will open next month at the former Sidney's in Minnetonka, a mile west of Interstate Hwy. 494 on Hwy. 7. Owner Gus Parpas says the menu will be nearly identical to his original Nicollet Avenue restaurant in Minneapolis, with one addition: Sidney's stone oven was far too nice to demolish, so the Minnetonka menu will offer a variety of pizzas with a Greek-Mediterranean twist. Plans also include adding an herb garden to the 50-seat outdoor patio.

Yummy tom yum

The wait for tables at True Thai should get shorter by this fall at the latest. Owner Anna Prasomphol Fieser says her popular restaurant in Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood is about to expand into the adjacent storefront. Plans include tripling the size of the kitchen, expanding the dining area, building a wine bar and adding banquet seating, catering and home delivery.

Jeremy Iggers

Recent Dining + Nightlife stories

Last call: Nye's bartender ready to hang up rag - March 14, 2007

Last call: Nye's bartender ready to hang up rag - Nye's master bartender Mikey Mussehl will hang up his bar rag soon. More

Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments

Share photos and videos now

The North Star Supernovas take on Hammer City Roller Girls in a WFTDA sanctioned scrimmage at Skateville in Burnsville. Here, Naughty Kitty lays a block on Coma

See thousands of photos from other StarTribune.com readers and share your own photos and video today.