The days of Tori 44, the ramen restaurant in Minneapolis' Victory neighborhood, are over, and downtown St. Paul's Momento will follow suit this weekend.
Tori 44, at 2203 N. 44th St., centered its restaurant around its vegan and chicken-based ramen broths for the past six years. The announcement came via social media saying, "It's become untenable to noodle around any longer," and that "new adventures await."
The silver lining is that chef/owner Jason Dorweiler's second Tori, on W. 7th Street in St. Paul, remains open.
Saturday is the last night of service for Morrissey Hospitality's Mediterranean-styled Momento, which replaced the popular Pazzaluna at 360 St. Peter St. about a year ago. It closed months later for a menu and concept refresh. Now, the company has scrapped the restaurant altogether in favor of using the address as an event space.
It's been a particularly rough couple of weeks for restaurant closings. Pannekoeken Huis in St. Louis Park has closed after 25 years, and Minneapolis' Galactic Pizza bid farewell after 20 years. Coconut Whisk, the gluten-free and vegan bake shop, is closing its cafe in downtown Minneapolis, but the brand's baking mixes will live on. And McCoy's Public House in St. Louis Park announced it will close at the end of the month, but not before one last St. Patrick's Day celebration.
