Sunday is the last day for fans of the Eden Avenue Grill.
Ken and Brett Johnson, the restaurant's father-and-son ownership duo, are temporarily shuttering their 20-year-old neighborhood restaurant after Sunday's dinner service, with plans to reopen in late March as the Hilltop.
Longtime chef Bruce Bjorkman will be joined in the kitchen by Redstone American Grill and Bonfire veteran James Nielsen.
"We are excited to have chef James Nielsen on board to help launch the Hilltop and develop our new menu items," said Brett Johnson. "He is young and energetic and really understands Midwest comfort food with a modern twist."
The restaurant -- a rare indie in the chain-filled suburbs -- will undergo a renovation (supervised by Shea, the Minneapolis design firm), and the menu is getting an overhaul as well.
Some best-selling items — including an open-faced roast turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, and the kitchen's baked French onion soup — aren't going anywhere, and they'll be joined by a host of new dishes, including a variety of flatbreads, sliders and salads. The bar will expand its selection of locally produced craft beers.
Diners with long memories will recall the Eden Avenue's predecessor, the Pantry, which Ken Johnson and Bjorkman launched in 1977, then remade into the Eden Avenue Grill in 1996.
The Hilltop will continue the Eden Avenue's practice of serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, daily.
