What's behind the closures of several Twin Cities restaurants?
The Twin Cities have seen some big losses in the local food scene recently. Since the start of June, four popular restaurants have announced they're closing their doors
Stephanie March, editor-at-large of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, has been reporting on big names calling it quits this summer, including Young Joni in northeast Minneapolis, Lurcat in Loring Park and Edina Grill at West 50th Street and France Avenue.
"If you think about Lurcat, you know, that's 23 years. That's the D'Amico brothers, you know, who don't even really live here anymore [laughs], they live in Florida," March said. "And then, you know, Edina Grill has kind of been there for a long, long time, and it seems like they've had some company changes and things happen with the unfortunate passing of David Burley, maybe they're going through the motions of trying to figure things out."
The most recent closure announcement is Sun Street Breads off East 46th Street and Nicollet Avenue, a fixture for breakfast sandwiches, coffee and baked goods in the Kingfield neighborhood.
The owner, Solveig Tofte, decided not renew their lease when it's up in March after 15 years.
"For her to say, 'I'm just kind of tired and I want to do something different,' and like we kind of have to let restaurateurs to also do that," March said. "You see people who retire and move into different careers, and for some reason with us with restauranteurs, we're like, 'No, no, but I need my croissant.'"
Is there something else externally that's maybe going on right now in our world that's putting pressure on these restaurants?
"Between the uncertainty of the tariffs, the uncertainty of the labor market, the uncertainty of the world is causing people and prices, and people are pinching back," she said.
March encourages food lovers to not get too down about these closures, as this is an industry that always bounces back
"We're pretty vital and vibrant, like there's a lot of stuff cooking right now," she said. "People attach their special occasions and their social lives and just, you know, special things to restaurants that it kind of provides that third place."
March says the brewery scene is also changing. She expects more closures over time as more people turn to alcohol-free lifestyles or prefer THC drink options.
