New year, new restaurants: Here are 16 openings we’re excited about

IN SOFT OPENING

All eyes are on this suburb, which is home to a new outpost of Travail Collective’s popular pizzeria-brewery.

The original Robbinsdale location did a tour as Nouvelle Brewing before going back to its PAMP roots, serving up creative pizzas like the Diana Ross and the Piggy Pie along with burgers, a fried chicken sandwich and starters like pork nugs, queso fundido and more. The Bloomington menu is expected to follow suit, and will have a few pasta dishes, too, thanks to sister restaurant ie - Italian Eatery by Travail.

On the drink side, look for a range of Nouvelle beers, seltzers and fun cocktails. Dessert will come courtesy of another Travail enterprise, Dream Creamery ice cream, and there’s a dessert pizza, too.

After a busy 2025 — opening ie and taking over Graze Food Hall in addition to running its flagship restaurant — it looks like Travail Collective is showing no signs of slowing down.

10700 Bloomington Ferry Rd., Bloomington, pigatemypizza.com

Restaurateur and chef Kamal Mohamed has teamed up with Yon Hailu, the chef of his clean-eating cafe Parcelle, to bring this Tuscan-style sandwich shop to the downtown Minneapolis skyway.

It’s authentic street food in the city above the streets that aims to “start with good bread, treat it with respect, and deliver something worth coming back for.”

Look for PaperBoy to be operating at full speed after the holidays. Located in the Baker Center, hours will be Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

733 Marquette Av., Suite 223 (skyway level), Mpls., paperboydeli.com

JANUARY 2026

It could be any day now that we say aloha to Ono Hawaiian Plates’ first stand-alone location. Co-owner Warren Seta said the opening of their North Loop place in the former Guacaya Bistreaux is hinging on securing a liquor license with the city. If things go smoothly, Seta and his wife, Jess Kelley, could open their Hawaiian food and drink concept as early as mid-January. The duo, who also run the Ono Hawaiian Plates counter inside United Noodles grocery store, are planning on an expanded menu modeled after how large groups of friends and family like to dine in their Hawaiian culture. That includes platters that are easily shareable, from Hawaiian-style fried chicken and ribs to whole fish. They’re also planning on a mai tai bar featuring tiki drinks to capture that spirit.

Jenny and Savio Nguyen plan to open a second Minneapolis outpost of their Vietnamese coffee shop just blocks from Target Center. When the downtown location in the Kickernick Building opens, which they estimate will be mid-January, expect Caphin bestsellers such as traditional Vietnamese java as well as trending salted caramel and egg coffees, pandan lattes and strawberry matcha to be part of the lineup. Like the Linden Hills location, there will be monthly specials, too.

That’s not all the Nguyens have brewing. Caphin has traditionally sourced Vietnamese-grown coffee, but they’re taking it a step further by switching from sourcing coffee with external partners to sourcing directly, allowing them to curate beans from specific farmers and regions while seeking out Rainforest Alliance certified products that meet strict sustainability standards. “This gives us more consistency, control and the ability to source and roast Vietnamese coffee at the quality level we care about as the business scales,” Jenny said.

430 1st Av. N., Mpls., caphinmpls.com

In a lot of ways, the current version of Petite Leon is already a new era for the restaurant. Its initial chef is long gone, and the team has been intact for a while. Now the owners are ready for a rebrand. The as-of-yet unnamed restaurant and bar will blend casual eats that are elevated just enough for a cool date night with the boho, historic cool of the neighborhood. Chef Ben Rockwell will get the chance to do his own thing with the food, and general manager Samantha Voigt’s stellar wine selections will aim for attainable price points for the Kingfield neighborhood.

From the same crew that gave us Little Tijuana and Lynette, we expect this restaurant to be a fine complement to those places: great cocktails, tasty burgers and fresh takes on the kind of comforts we crave.

3800 Nicollet Av., Mpls., petiteleonmpls.com

The historic Cathedral Hill restaurant space that’s been a neighborhood gathering point for generations will get new life as Aubergine, the pop-up turned restaurant from Megan and Bjorn Jacobse. The two are well-versed in top-tier dining, having worked locally for Gavin Kaysen’s Soigné Hospitality restaurant group; this is their first venture on their own.

Dishes will draw inspiration from Bjorn’s Lyon, France, roots and be accompanied by a thoughtful selection of wines.

Transforming the former Revival space out of the pizza/barbecue/fried chicken era into something fresh is taking a bit longer than planned, but we’re willing to wait for this one to be just right. An early 2026 opening is planned.

525 Selby Av., St. Paul, restaurantaubergine.com

The new northeast Minneapolis space will be shared with MN Nice Cream, a collaboration that allows Dahlia to operate as a daytime cafe while the soft-serve shop takes over in the afternoons. When it opens in early 2026 (mid- to late January, according to the website), Dahlia plans to serve breakfast pastries alongside savory offerings like soups, salads and sandwiches — an evolution from pop-up darling to full neighborhood fixture.

“It happened really fast,” Althoff said about teaming up with MN Nice Cream. “It was just like this no-brainer for both of our brands.”

807 NE. Broadway, Mpls., eatatdahlia.com

FEBRUARY

The eclectic Eagan transplant Kitchen & Rail is aiming for a February opening in the former Mort’s Deli space in the Golden Valley Shopping Center. The move into the deli site — vacant since Mort’s closed in 2022 — is the first announcement of what could be more food news to come out of the revitalization of the 70-year-old strip mall since Paster Properties took over last June.

525 Winnetka Av. N., Golden Valley, kitchenandrail.com

SPRING

One of Minneapolis’ most celebrated restaurants is preparing for a major transition in March, when Owamni relocates from Water Works Pavilion to the main-floor restaurant space at the Guthrie Theater, also in the Mill District. The move gives chef and co-founder Sean Sherman’s Indigenous restaurant significantly more dining and kitchen space, easing the longstanding challenge of limited reservations and making room to expand the menu, including broader daytime and pre-theater offerings, from bar snacks to seafood.

“It’s just such a wonderful move,” Sherman said. “The Guthrie is massively iconic in the city, and the space is just so much bigger. It’s going to open up so many doors.”

The Water Works Pavilion space will not sit empty; a new concept is expected to take over the restaurant space after Owamni departs.

After some delays tied to Owamni’s Guthrie move and other projects, Sean Sherman’s Indigenous barbecue concept is now slated to open this spring in the historic Seward Co-op Creamery building, a reclaimed food hub that will also house NATIFS’ (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) commissary kitchen and headquarters.

Named for the Dakota word for “smoke” or “clouds,” ŠHOTÁ will bring counter-service barbecue anchored in Indigenous ingredients and techniques, with smoked game, fish and vegetables alongside healthful sides like maple-baked beans, dirty wild rice, hominy and braised greens.

ŠHOTÁ expands Sherman and his nonprofit’s broader mission while creating a new community destination for the American Indian Cultural Corridor on Franklin Avenue. “It just really fits into what we do, showing there are other concepts out there that we can continue to do in our style, keeping things healthy, prioritizing purchasing from Indigenous producers and opening up more jobs,” Sherman said.

2601 Franklin Av. E., Mpls., shotabbq.com

Known for its cult following for online pint drops and inventive flavor combinations, A to Z Creamery is preparing its next chapter with a walk-up soft serve shop in downtown Hopkins. The project will give the small-batch ice cream maker a permanent retail presence after years of selling primarily through limited releases.

“We have a very good soft serve recipe,” Vraa said. “I’m pretty confident we can nail it.”

While new weekly flavors of Vraa’s hard-pack ice cream continue to drop, the soft serve shop is expected to open in spring 2026, bringing yet another high-interest stop to Hopkins’ growing food scene.

705 Mainstreet, Hopkins, atozcreamery.com

Owners John Kraus and Elizabeth Rose plan to open Maison Rose, a 13,000-square-foot cafe, retail and production space with an education arm, inside the former Osteria I Nonni/Buon Giorno.

The new project sounds similar to what they had at the Keg and Case Rathskeller in St. Paul before the pandemic, but with more chill. “Lilydale is a great little nook. It’s quiet, it’s calm,” Kraus said.

981 Sibley Memorial Hwy., Lilydale

In Houston White’s newest evolution in the space most recently known as the Get Down Coffee Co., Blue in Green will continue White’s brand of approachable opulence as an upscale bistro.

White’s creative vision came from observing the customer experience at his popular coffee shop. White told the Star Tribune that a New York designer showed him renderings of what the space could be, and he decided to change course.

Like the Miles Davis song for which he’s named the bistro, White is known for riffing on creative inspiration and imbuing a musicality to the moments and beauty he creates. That’s why we can’t wait to see what this restaurant will bring to our dining landscape. Look for a spring opening.

1500 44th Av. N., Mpls., getdowncoffee.com

Sharon and Randy Stanley’s steak and seafood restaurant in Southdale Center is chugging right along. According to the Stanleys, who are also behind steak and seafood spots Baldamar at Rosedale Center and 6Smith in downtown Wayzata, they’ve decided on the name Smithson. They’re currently working with Shea design to carry out their vision for a 200-capacity Edina restaurant, which will feature fancy options as well as more casual fare such as salads, sandwiches and burgers. A fall 2026 rollout is planned.

10 Southdale Center, Edina

More details including the timeline have yet to be revealed on the new food hall going into Burnsville Center. But at last glance, the vendor counters were in place and pieces of equipment were on-site, so 2026 could be the year. The 13,000-square-foot gathering spot going into the former Gordmans department store space will feature nine vendors and an Asian grocery store. According to the Ate Ate Ate website, the vendors are Urban Oasis Cocktail and Spirits, Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls, Oday, Niko Niko Boba, Amazing Momo, Han Sang Korean Cuisine, Soga, Saigon Meats Manila and Sho Ramen.

1178 Burnsville Center, Burnsville, ateateatemn.com