Just as the weather is starting to turn cool, Parka is going away.
The not-quite-two-years-old E. Lake Street restaurant, which shares space with Forage Modern Workshop, is a collaboration between Dogwood Coffee Co. and Rustica.
I'm bummed (selfishly, the restaurant isn't far from my house, and its under-the-radar breakfast menu is one of the Twin Cities' loveliest) by the news. "I am, too," said co-owner Greg Hoyt. "But not enough people are rewarding us for what we do."
The space isn't going dark. Hoyt & Co. are rebranding it as a Dogwood Coffee bar, and it will feature a full line of the company's trademark carefully-prepared brewed beverages, along with Rustica pastries, sweets and sandwiches.
Parka's last meals will be served on Sept. 21, and the space will close for a week for renovations.
"We want to give it more of a coffeehouse feel," said Hoyt. One major change will be placing a wall to cover the now-open kitchen. Hoyt said the facility will probably be repurposed as a Rustica baking site. "They're just bursting at the seams," he said.
