Petite León’s owners are ready to change everything — except maybe that burger

The last night for Petite León will be Dec. 31. What comes next is a restaurant and bar that’s built by and for the folks that know and love south Minneapolis.

Since its inception in the summer of 2020, the restaurant at the corner of 38th Street and Nicollet Avenue has been an evolution. Petite León was first the site of a lauded takeout-only business during the pandemic, then a national press-courting buzzy spot with hard-to-snag reservations for its small space. It further evolved when founding chef/partner Jorge Guzman departed earlier this year and his stake in the restaurant was migrated to an employee profit-sharing program.

But at its heart, the room has always belonged to the neighborhood. Now, five years into it, owners Ben Siers-Rients, Travis Serbus-White and the employees are ready to move into a new era.

Serbus-White said the employees are also the ones driving the decision: “They’re the ones that have pushed for these changes — like adding happy hour.”

“I love Petite,” he said. “I love it for what it is and what it was. A big thing with this rebrand is that we need a break in people’s minds. We’ve been trying to make these changes to be more of a neighborhood spot and more of a value-driven restaurant.”

Through it all, Petite León has carried on.

“A restaurant becomes what the neighborhood wants it to be,” said Serbus-White. Saying goodbye to Petite León is the hard reset needed to be free to welcome the restaurant’s next era.

General manager Samantha Voigt has been deepening her wine knowledge and plans to go deeper into natural wines with an eye on affordability.

And Peder Tune, the bar manager, is toying with which PL favorites will stay (possibly the spicy Verde) and which classic cocktails they’ll offer, and how he’ll riff on them.

The upcoming changes all speak to the roots of the building, the neighborhood and the team. Siers-Rients and Serbus-White also own Lynette, an all-day neighborhood restaurant in Longfellow. Serbus-White also owns Little T’s, a historic dive bar with an industry-insider’s soul.

Serbus-White said meeting people where they are drives both of them.

“We come from being in the [hospitality] industry. I was a bartender. Ben was a regular. The best part of what we do is making regulars,” he said. “To see people and be a part of their lives — that’s the best part of being a neighborhood gem. Doing that in south Minneapolis just makes sense.”

The people they employ are also stakeholders now. “When you don’t own the building, all you own are profits,” said Serbus-White. He said the goal is to make sure the people who make the place what it is get to participate in its success.

After Petite León’s last night, they plan to work around the clock to reopen the as-yet-unnamed restaurant as quickly as possible. In talks about the design, Serbus-White said he heard appreciation for the building’s historic space and the ideas started to sound a lot like Blackbird, the restaurant that previously occupied the address. Maybe all good ideas do come around again.