Coup D'état
Opening late fall in Uptown
Turns out that gathering a pedigreed team of chefs and a top-shelf cocktailer in a stylish space amid a trendy neighborhood doth a hit restaurant and bar make. Weird, right? Owners Brent Frederick and Jacob Toledo found this winning formula when they opened their North Loop upstairs/downstairs combo Borough and Parlour last winter. This fall the restaurateurs are bringing the chemistry to Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood. Dubbed Coup d'Etat, the French industrial-themed concept will land in the late fall in the mixed-use Walkway building, at the old Cowboy Slim's site. The Borough kitchen crew will do contemporary American-meets-Mediterranean while Parlour's bearded beverage guru, Jesse Held, is helming the drink menu. Sounds like another promising equation.
Also:
Buddha Kitchen Lounge: Three years after Azia left the corner of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, the Eat Street space is getting a new bar and restaurant that smells a lot like its predecessor. A la Azia, Eat Street Buddha Kitchen Lounge will fit the Asian-fusion-lounge mode, offering sushi, sake, small plates, oysters and more, and bringing in DJs Thursday through Saturday nights. It seems owner Mike Tupa, who also owns several Wild Bill's Sports Saloons, is moving from the Wild West to the Far East. (Opening in late September.)
Seventh Street Social: St. Paulites can look forward to this bar and "modern supper club" — no relation to Northeast Social or Eat Street Social — headed for the Highland neighborhood. It aims to fill the void at a West 7th Street location that once housed Casa Vieja and Parrish's Supper Club. Owner Brian Glancy said that his 16 tap handles will lean heavily local, and that beer and champagne cocktails could be in play. Foodwise, think contemporary comfort fare and gastropub-y dishes such as smoked prime rib, chicken and biscuits, and griddle burgers. (Late September or early October.)
Hammer & Sickle: Lyndale Tap House owner Gene Suh is heading toward Hennepin and bucking the whiskey trend with a new Uptown vodka bar. Housed in the former Kinsen space on Lagoon Avenue, Hammer & Sickle will offer an expansive list of high-end vodkas, which Suh said will showcase the spirit's various flavors and distillation methods. The Silver Wolf-shunning bar will offer flights and tasting pairings with the kitchen's Americanized riff on Russian and Eastern European cuisine. (Late October.)
Prairie Tap House: Suh, who already has brought his Tap House gastro-pub formula to Apple Valley, is prepping another location at Eden Prairie Center, in a long-vacant TGI Friday space next to Wildfire and Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano. (Early October.)