Loring Kitchen & Bar is calling it quits.
"We couldn't make ends meet," said manager Charles Levine, son of owner Robert Levine.
Like all restaurant closures, this one is a shame for many reasons, not the least of which is its great-looking design. The six-year-old restaurant (no relation to the Loring Pasta Bar), located in the Eitel Building City Apartments, is one of the few eating-and-drinking establishments that takes full advantage of its proximity to the city's much-vaunted park system. In this case, Loring Park.
The restaurant will observe its regular hours through the 14th, serving its American comfort food fare at dinner (daily), lunch (weekdays) and brunch (Saturday and Sunday). Oh, and happy hour(s): 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Drop in during Holidazzle, which is taking place across the street 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Another closure: the retail portion of Franklin Street Bakery.
"Our continued focus on high quality artisan breads has attributed to the growing success of our wholesale bread business, requiring both additional space and work force," said co-owners Wayne Kostroski and Mark Haugen in a statement. "As grateful as we are for this growth, it has become necessary for us to make the difficult decision to close the retail store and re-purpose the space for packaging more delicious bread."
The bakery opened in 2004, and was the Minneapolis launch pad for Chicago pastry chef Michelle Gayer, who later opened her own Salty Tart bakery.
