The Blue Plate Restaurant Co. (www.blueplaterestaurant company.com) is on another growth spurt.

The company, which recently launched Scusi (1806 St. Clair Av., St. Paul) and operates Highland Grill (771 S. Cleveland Av., St. Paul), Edina Grill (5028 France Av. S., Edina), Longfellow Grill (2990 West River Pkwy., Mpls.) and 3 Squares (12690 Arbor Lakes Pkwy., Maple Grove), is now headed to Uptown.

Specifically 2112 Hennepin Av. S., in a former Hollywood Video venue. The as-yet-unnamed property will follow a format similar to its corporate siblings.

"About 50 to 60 percent of the menu is going to be occupied by Blue Plate all-stars," said co-owner Stephanie Shimp. "The turkey burger, the fish and chips, the steak and pirogies, the core items that have done well and have a good story. From there, we'll expand it to cover the needs of the neighborhood."

Late-night is definitely at the top of the to-do list.

"There's a big hole for late-night in Uptown, left after the departure of Figlio and the Uptown Bar," said Shimp. "And we're really good at breakfast."

Shimp said that Blue Plate's decision to expand into Uptown is a no-brainer.

"We're an urban company," she said. "We get urban, we are more comfortable with urban and we have more success in urban areas. And for us, where else is there to go but Uptown? I think we've found where we belong, yet we're not going to be at Hennepin-Lake, so we're not competing with Parasole [owner of Chino Latino, Uptown Cafeteria and Il Gatto] on that corner."

The 150-seat restaurant and bar ("We want the bar to feel like a lounge, like a separate space," said Shimp), which is being designed by Minneapolis-based Tanek, is scheduled to open in July.

In other Blue Plate news, the company has just revitalized the menu at its Groveland Tap (1834 St. Clair Av., St. Paul) and has installed a wine dispenser system at the bar, tapping eight zinfandels.

"We think zinfandel goes great with burgers, and we've got to be the only bar in town with an all-zinfandel wine list."

Well, there's also one white (a non-oaked chardonnay), but yes, I'd say she's right.

Pearson's bids farewellAfter 37 years at 50th Street and Ewing Avenue S., Pearson's Edina Restaurant -- technically, the restaurant was a block east of the Edina/Minneapolis line -- called it quits on Sunday. But the building didn't stay quiet for long.

Three days later, the space was rechristened the 50th Street Cafe (3808 W. 50th St., Mpls.). The new owner is John McCarty, the breakfast-lunch mogul behind the New Louisiana Cafe (613 Selby Av., St. Paul), the Grandview Grill (1818 Grand Av., St. Paul) and the New Uptown Diner (2548 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.). McCarty is following the same formula at 50th and Ewing, with an all-American breakfast/lunch format.

Pearson's fans will be pleased to learn that along with the super-cool retro setting, McCarty is retaining a handful of standards, tagged under the "Pearson's Favorites" label: a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and green beans, chicken pot pie, salmon casserole, Swedish meatballs and a Reuben sandwich.

No word on whether Pearson's lutefisk holiday tradition will continue. Let's hope so -- it's a dying local art.

RICK NELSON