Sad news for Craftsman (4300 E. Lake St., Mpls., www.craftsmanrestaurant.com) fans, but good news for lovers of cured meats: After a five-year run, chef Mike Phillips, above, has left the restaurant to pursue a new opportunity.

He's partnering with Irish pub magnate/bon vivant Kieran Folliard to create Green Ox Foods. The goal: to give Phillips a platform for converting locally raised pork into bacon, sausage, salami and other cured specialty meats, all for use in Folliard's five properties (the Local, Kieran's Irish Pub and the Old Pub in downtown Minneapolis, Cooper Irish Pub in St. Louis Park and the Liffey in downtown St. Paul). A longer-term goal is to create a retail distribution pipeline.

"Right now at the Craftsman, people are always asking, 'Where can we buy this?'" said Phillips. "I can't wait to say, 'Go to Surdyk's, or Lunds, or Byerly's.' Who knows? Maybe we'll have a retail component of our own sometime down the road, or maybe a meat counter inside the pubs. We'll have to see how that all works out."

What's behind that Green Ox name? "The ox is a nod to Babe the Blue Ox, and the green is a nod to both sustainability and to [Kieran's] Irish tradition and to the pubs' Irish tradition," said Phillips. "It doesn't have a pig in the name, but it's a good name nonetheless."

Coming soon Opening Friday: il Premio (2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, www.mysticlake.com), an Italian steakhouse remake of the former Ribbons steakhouse, located inside the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. Chef Richard Fisher's dinner-only menu features pastas, Neapolitan-style pizzas, focaccia flatbreads and grilled steaks and fish.

Meritage (410 St. Peter St., St. Paul, www.meritage-stpaul.com) is expanding, taking over an adjacent storefront in the historic Hamm Building for a much-needed bar, as well as an oyster bar. Co-owners Russell and Desta Klein also plan to add a late-night, post-theater bar menu. The kitchen is also gaining more breathing room. "We're thinking of adding a kitchen table; we're still working out those details," said Russell Klein, who said the project should open around Thanksgiving.

Around town Downtown Minneapolis lunchers, listen up: La Loma Tamales is now operating a lunch counter inside the Northstar Center (608 2nd Av. S., www.lalomatamales.com), hawking Enrique and Noelia Garcia's handmade tamales plus inexpensive taco salads, chilaquiles, burritos and more.

Morrissey Hospitality Cos. (www.morrisseyhospitality. com) really knows how to say "Happy birthday." Here's the deal: Guests over age 21 can drop in on Pazzaluna (360 St. Peter St., St. Paul), Tria (5959 Centerville Rd., North Oaks) or Enjoy! (15435 Founders Lane, Apple Valley) during the week of their birthday, and the company will get the party started with a complimentary bottle of wine equal in value to the person's age (for example, a 35-year-old receives a $35 bottle, or a $35 credit towards a more expensive choice). Valid identification and the purchase of two entrees are required.

RICK NELSON