Eastside to open in downtown Minneapolis in mid-September

Although diners won't get a peek at Eastside (301 Washington Av. S., Mpls., eastsidempls.com) until Sept. 22 — that's the target opening date — owner Ryan Burnet recently gave me a preview tour and, trust me, this is one great-looking restaurant.

For starters, the dining room floor is going to kick off a serious case of ceramic tile envy. In the bar, a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass doors pivot open to the sidewalk patio. A kitchen table sits steps from chef Remy Pettus' wide-open workspace. The entry is dominated by an oversize image of a young Muhammad Ali by photographer Flip Schulke.

The 150-seat restaurant, designed by Shea of Minneapolis and located on the ground floor of the Latitude 45 apartment building in the restaurant-starved Downtown East neighborhood, could probably open tomorrow. But Burnet, co-owner of Barrio, Bar La Grassa and Burch Steak and Pizza Bar, is waiting for the city to release its certificate of occupancy for the building.

"We're ahead of schedule and under budget," said Burnet with a laugh. "That's two phrases that are never associated with restaurants, at least for me."

Pettus is promising a "simple, approachable, seafood-forward American brasserie," he said.

"We want to feed people in the neighborhood," added Burnet. "People build these beautiful kitchens, and then they never use them."

As for the bar, "Dan Oskey is helping us create a drink program," said Burnet. "The focus is on amazing cocktails in three minutes, or less."

"It's the worst-kept secret in the Twin Cities restaurant scene," said co-owner Josh Thoma with a laugh.

The lobster-centric restaurant is going into 1KFulton, a remake of a cold storage facility dating to 1923 in the city's historic Randolph/Fulton Market district. The 10-story building will be the future home of Google's Midwest headquarters.

The project is a partnership with Four Corners Tavern Group, which operates 10 Chicago-area restaurants.

The restaurant will be larger than its Minneapolis counterpart — 300 seats vs. 200 — but will offer many of the same features, including tanks surrounded by a lobster bar. Thoma said that construction should begin in about six weeks, and he's hoping for an end-of-the-year opening.