Saturday evening, June 12, is our last night of service at Heartland's original location in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood in St. Paul. It brings both joy and sadness to be leaving the home of our first restaurant. First comes joy because we have worked so hard over the last eight years to create this new opportunity, and then comes sadness to be leaving a place that has been so incredibly good to us. As many people know, we are denizens of Macalester-Groveland, and we live only eight blocks from our original location. I have had the pleasure of walking to and from work for these last eight years, and that is something upon which one can't really put a price. To be able to work in a restaurant serving dinner to the some of the same folks that I waved to earlier in the day during my morning commute is pretty special.


Over the years, we have enjoyed more than our fair share of accolades from the critics and the press, but nothing really compares to the generosity and support we have received from our regular clientèle. Without them, none of what are about to do would be possible. We owe all of them an incredible amount of gratitude. Some of those same people have become very dear friends.

It was my intention to blog in an ongoing way about the process of relocating a successful restaurant and about what it is like to go through all of the machinations, both financial and creative, but the project has been pretty much all consuming. Not only that, but we are doing it while we are still operating out of our current location. That is not an easy thing to do. Combine that with a trip to New York for the James Beard Foundation Awards and a fact finding trip to Chicago for the National Restaurant Association Show, and we have pretty much placed ourselves in a constant state of overdrive. So I hope that I can be a little more forthcoming in the next few weeks as we move to our reopening date in mid July.

While the following is now public knowledge in many quarters, I feel that clarifying our new project should help to eliminate any questions or misconceptions about our expansion and relocation.

Heartland Contemporary Midwestern Restaurant & Wine Bar will cease operating at its present location on June 13, 2010. It will reopen as Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market on July 15, 2010, in its new location across the street from the St. Paul Farmers Market at 289 East Fifth Street in the Lowertown neighborhood of downtown St. Paul.

The new location is in the Market House which was designed by architect J. Walter Stevens and built in 1902. The six story red brick warehouse was commissioned by Ambrose Tighe, a son-in-law of Conrad Gotzian of the Gotzian Shoe Company and called the Tighe Building at the time of its completion. It was originally constructed as a rental property with considerable unheated space for storage. After housing a variety of tenants including the Cardozo Furniture Company, it was converted to mixed use commercial and residential condominiums in the 1980's.

Heartland purchased approximately 18,000 square feet of commercial space on the concourse and first floor levels. The concourse will house Heartland's primary storage facilities and walk in coolers. The largest of the coolers will have a display window that will allow patrons to observe meat cutting and charcuterie preparation. Also on the concourse level will be a banquet room capable of seating upwards to 120 guests, more if the common area is utilized, as well as staff facilities, office space, rest rooms and the proposed staging area for a future wholesale distribution operation that will focus on locally grown and produced foods as well as Heartland's own proprietary label products.

Each of the spaces on the concourse level are connected to corresponding spaces above on the first floor through internal staircases as well as to the larger atrium via elevator access.

The first floor is comprised of a large atrium space that rises six stories to the rooftop skylight. The atrium will house Heartland's display kitchen as well as the lounge and bar with seating for 50 guests. In addition, there will be three chef's tables situated on balconies overlooking the concourse below and positioned directly across from the cooking line. Each table can accommodate up to six guests and may be booked separately or as a group for up to eighteen guests. Also on the first floor will be an additional banquet room that can seat up to 80 guests and the main dining room with seating for at least 80. A year round farm direct market will feature locally and sustainably produced meat, fish, dairy, cheese, produce, grocery and floral including some products which will bear Heartland's own proprietary label as well as a fully stocked deli and bakery with house-made charcuterie, breads and pastries. Additional office space that includes fully equipped, high tech meeting rooms available for small groups of ten to twelve guests is also located on the first floor.

Our plan right now is to phase in the different facets of the facility as well as the hours of the operation as we develop each component and feel comfortable with our ability to provide excellent quality and service to all of our guests. As such, we will initially open for dinner service Tuesday through Sunday beginning at 5:00 PM. Brunch service on Saturdays and Sundays while the Farmers Market is in session will begin as soon as we feel our dinner operation is meeting our standards and expectations. The market is projected to open in mid August seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Its deli and bakery will service the breakfast and lunch crowds.

Since the architecture provides such stunning interior spaces with floor to ceiling windows and a soaring atrium, décor elements and additions will be relatively subtle and designed to enhance rather than transform the environment. Expect to see some strategic lighting enhancements as well as a judicious use of fabrics, tile, stone and wood in softer tones of silver, blue, beige and orange. Shea Architects of Minneapolis is assisting in the design and Gerry Flannery of Flannery Construction in St. Paul is managing the project.

Our new location is quite easily accessible from all major roads leading into and out of the Twin Cities. Valet service will be provided during dinner hours, and plans are underway to arrange for shuttle service to downtown theater and event venues. Parcel pick up for the market will be available on the east side of the building in front of the Broadway Street entrance to the Market House. In addition, Heartland will be just two blocks from the Union Depot train station which will serve as the terminus of the new light rail line connecting Minneapolis to St. Paul scheduled to begin service in 2014. The Union Depot is also the site for the proposed high speed rail line connecting the Twin Cities to Chicago and Wisconsin. In addition, A new baseball stadium and municipal park that will be the future home of the St. Paul Saints has been proposed for the area directly east of the Market House.

We are very excited to be bringing Heartland to Lowertown. We love the neighborhood and the new vitality that has arisen there with the recent openings of several new entertainment and dining venues. Being across the street from the St. Paul Farmers Market has particular appeal to us, and we are anxious to become a part of the revitalization of what we consider to be the most charming area of downtown St. Paul.

I hope to be able to have time to continue to post to this blog in upcoming weeks in order to share some of the trials, travails and joys of a restaurant opening. I am pretty darn good at biting off more than I can chew at times so I will do my best to keep you informed of our progress while giving you an insider's look at our industry.