Restaurant news: Agra Culture in at the MIA

More change is coming to the dining operations at the Minneapolis Insitute of Arts, and soon.

The owners of Agra Culture Kitchen & Press (www.agra-culture.com) announced that they are opening a branch of their counter-service operation at the museum in mid-October.

Agra Culture debuted in May in Uptown (2939 Girard Av. S., Mpls.) and then launched a second location in the 50th-and-France commercial district (3717 W. 50th St., Mpls.) in July.

The chain is the work of Andrea and Aaron Switz, the founders of fast-growing Yogurt Lab, which has grown to 10 outlets in the Twin Cities and suburban La Crosse, Wis., since opening in 2011.

The couple tapped former Macy's chef Tim Scott to create Agra Culture's breakfast-lunch-dinner menu, which emphasizes organic and sustainably raised ingredients and includes nods to those following vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets. Scott and the Switzes parted company earlier this month.

Agra Culture will replace several short-lived ventures from Stock and Badge, the partnership behind Dogwood Coffee Co. and Rustica. S & B operates the lobby-level Dogwood Coffee Bar and Half Pint, which is tailored to children; both opened less than a year ago.

The company also briefly operated Grain Stack, a counter-service restaurant located on the museum's mezzanine-level dining space; it closed in June.

Stock and Badge is moving out of the restaurant business. The company shuttered its not-quite-two-year-old Parka on Sunday, and is converting the E. Lake Street location into a Dogwood Coffee bar.

"We're going to be concentrating on coffee and bakery," said Hoyt. "So it goes."

It's just what the downtown Minneapolis skyways needed: a grab-and-go space devoted to premium locally produced food products.

Simpls (601 Marquette Av. S., Mpls., www.simpls.com) owners Ryan Rosenthal and Michael von Fange feature the kind of packaged goods such as Kakookies (vegan, and baked in Plymouth) and Fresh Bars (natural nutrition bars, made in Minneapolis) not generally available in office vending machines, along with gluten-free muffins from baker Molly Miller's Sift (www.siftglutenfree.com, a sight familiar to shoppers at the Fulton Farmers Market and Kingfield Farmers Market) and kombucha on tap from Verdant Tea (2111 E. Franklin Av., Mpls., www.minneapolis .verdanttea.com).

The sandwiches, salads and (excellent) soups — as well as the first-rate bagels — are delivered daily from Common Roots Cafe (2558 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., www.commonrootscafe.com), and mornings feature a well-stocked organic oatmeal bar.

On Oct. 29 at 5 p.m., join chefs Steven Brown (Tilia), Vincent Francoual (Vincent), Tim McKee (La Belle Vie), Jamie Malone (the upcoming Brut) and J.P. Samuelson (6Smith), along with "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern, as they turn on the lights at the historic Forum (40 S. 7th St., Mpls.) for a six-course dinner benefiting scholarship programs at the James Beard Foundation and the Second Chances Scholarship. Cost is $150 per person; reservations at 612-372-1234.