It's all in the name Richard and Larry D'Amico have a name for their soon-to-open restaurant in the Normandale Lake Office Park in Bloomington. It's Parma 8200, which references the Italian city and the restaurant's location in the complex's 8200 Building.
The medium-priced Italian restaurant (dinner entrees will fall in the $15 to $25 range) will be under the direction of chef Mike Dalton, a Campiello (6411 City West Pkwy., Eden Prairie, www.damico.com) veteran. No exact opening date is set, but it probably will be in June.
New in the 763 The former Bella is back in business. It's Tavern Grill (10950 Club West Pkwy. NE., Blaine, www.thetaverngrill.com), and if the menu recalls Tavern on France in Edina -- itself a remake, of the former Via Cafe & Bar -- there's a reason; both are the work of restaurateur Anoush Ansari. The menu includes pub fare along the lines of affordable build-your-own pizzas, burgers and salads, plus an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch for $13.99.
"When we decided to change directions at Via and go with the Tavern on France concept, people loved it," said Ansari. "It's busy all the time; the numbers surprised us. The concept seems to be in demand; it's what people want to spend right now. So now we've Tavern-ized Bella."
The place has a new look ("We took the glitz off," Ansari said), although the enormous, tricked-out patio remains. "I'm a western suburban guy, so I didn't know Blaine," said Ansari. "But it's really beautiful. We're happy to be here."
In that same neighborhood, look for changes at Restaurant Cru (10340 Baltimore St. NE., Blaine, www.restaurantcru.com). Chef Robert Moore is out (a shame, at least to this diner; a visit there last month featured several memorably delicious dishes, including the best pork chop I've tasted in recent memory). Moore is a tough act to follow, and I look forward to checking out the work of his replacement, Ben Buirge, a Craftsman and W.A. Frost & Co. vet.
I love this opening date The folks behind Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill (1623 Park Pl. Blvd., St. Louis Park, www.tobykeith.com) aren't getting any more specific than "late spring" for an opening date for their new restaurant/entertainment venue, currently under construction in the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. The Minnesota branch of this fast-growing, seven-unit chain (with locations in Las Vegas, Tulsa, suburban Detroit and others) will have a capacity of 850 revelers and will feature live music, dancing, a mechanical bull named "Toby," a guitar-shaped bar, 38 TV screens and a gift shop.
Oh, yeah, there'll be roadie-inspired food, too: chicken-fried steak, pulled pork sandwiches, fried bologna sandwiches, meatloaf and deep-fried Twinkies. Sound familiar? I'm reminded of the Gatlin Bros. and their restaurant/bar/music venue from the Mall of America's early days, only with a more marketable celebrity name.
Speaking of the West End, the development has also signed Rojo Mexican Grill & Tequila Bar (1606 West End Blvd.), which will focus on Nuevo Mexican fare and will pour more than 50 varieties of tequila, as well as Sauce (1610 West End Blvd., www.foxrc.com), an Arizona-based fast-casual chain-in-the-making with a pizza-pasta-panini-wine menu. No opening dates have been announced.
RICK NELSON
