A Midwestern supper club with Louisiana touches is coming to 50th and France in Edina

Mr. Paul's Supper Club chef/owner Tommy Begnaud is aiming for an October opening.

June 1, 2021 at 1:02PM
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Chef Tommy Begnaud and Bittercube’s Nick Kosevich will open Mr. Paul’s Supper Club this fall at 50th and France in Edina. (Provided/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

New restaurants keep popping up in the Nolan Mains project in Edina's 50th and France neighborhood. First came the Lynhall No. 3945, which opened in August. Sweet Science Ice Cream is making its debut on Friday.

Now the mixed-use development (3945 Market St.), which features residences above ground-floor retail, has landed a third food-and-drink tenant: Mr. Paul's Supper Club.

In his first venture into restaurant ownership, chef Tommy Begnaud will be blending his Louisiana roots with the sensibilities of a Midwestern supper club. Begnaud has a long list of Twin Cities restaurants on his résumé, including Butcher & the Boar, Coup d'Etat and Cafe Maude.

The venture's partners also include Nick Kosevich of Bittercube fame (the two met during their overlapping tenures at the Town Talk Diner) and Courtney Briden, a familiar front-of-house presence to fans of two popular former Minneapolis restaurants, Butcher & the Boar and 4 Bells.

The dinner menu will follow the classic supper club format — steaks, chops, seafood, pasta — peppered with Creole and Cajun touches. By day, a counter-service restaurant-within-a-restaurant (dubbed Mr. Paul's Po'boys and Jams) will offer a variety of New Orleans sandwich standards (shrimp, fried oyster) as well as some supper club-esque newcomers (cheese curd, spaghetti-and-meatball), along with housemade sodas and slushies.

Kosevich is promising a cocktail menu that will place a contemporary spin on classic New Orleans libations, from a liquid nitrogen-chilled Sazerac to a twist on the famous Irish coffee served at the popular Erin Rose bar on Bourbon Street.

The 7,000-square-foot space will include several dining rooms, a main bar and lounge, a private bar and a roomy patio. It's being designed by Wittkamper Studio (the Minneapolis firm behind Brother Justus Whiskey Co., Heather's, Tattersall Distillery and La Doña Cerveceria) and stylist Carrie Erickson, who is also Begnaud's fiancé.

The Mr. Paul's name is an affectionate nod to Begnaud's Louisiana grandfather.

"My grandfather was known for his flair for the unexpected, and bringing people of all types together in community," Begnaud said in a statement. "Those elements are, to us, just as important as the culinary experience."

An October opening is planned.

Rick Nelson • @RickNelsonStrib

about the writer

Rick Nelson

Reporter

Rick Nelson joined the staff of the Star Tribune in 1998. He is a Twin Cities native, a University of Minnesota graduate and a James Beard Award winner. 

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