Breaking News: Ruby Tuesday closes at least seven Minnesota restaurants

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rubytuesday

Over the last few days, 8 of the 12 Minnesota Ruby Tuesday restaurants have closed, as has 1 of the 2 Fargo stores.  The remaining stores are in Inver Grove, Shakopee, Rosedale and Southdale.

As the Site Selection Broker for 9 of the 12 Ruby Tuesday restaurants in Minnesota, I find it interesting that high profile properties like Plymouth and Eden Prairie were shuttered while two properties in smaller, less dense, suburban-fringe markets where Ruby Tuesday was the only ‘player’ remain open.

The race for space is on, as every piece of decent retail/restaurant real estate that comes available will have multiple interested parties.  Stay tuned!

Pizza Out – Tacos In

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Buffalo Wild Wings has decided to not expandrtaco-logo2 their Pizza Rev locations here in the Twin Cities, and included a $600,000 write-off in their annual report for the acquired franchise licenses.  They will keep their two locations in Hopkins and Edina open for now.   There has been five national fast-casual pizza chains enter this market since 2014, creating tough competition for all.  Buffalo Wild Wings has a minority investment in this LA based chain.

However, their R Taco (formerly Rusty Taco) restaurants appear to be doing well, and Buffalo Wild Wings is expanding this concept around the country.   Buffalo Wild Wings announced in February that they were expanding the R Taco presence and at the time had 11 locations including the Twin Cities, Dallas, Denver and Omaha.  Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa are target states for R Taco, for both franchise and corporate operations.  R Taco locations are 1,800 to 2,500 square feet location, serving breakfast, lunch & dinner with craft beers and margaritas.

Lou Nanne’s Opens In Edina

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Lou Nanne’s restaurant is now open onlounannes France Avenue in Edina, in the space formerly occupied by Macaroni Grill.

Lou Nanne’s will offer a full lunch and dinner menu, and hope to eventually expand with breakfast options. The menu will consist of premium locally sourced beef, sustainable seafood flown in, hand-crafted burgers, wild caught salmon, fresh chopped salads, using local and seasonal ingredients when available.

Lou Nanne’s is a partnership between Lou Nanne and Michael McDermott, CEO of McDermott Restaurants, which also owns Rojo Mexican Grill and Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill. Lou Nanne, a 1998 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee and former Minnesota Gopher in the 1960s, also played for the Minnesota North Stars before moving in to his most known role, as coach and general manager of the Stars. Lou has continued to be the voice of Minnesota State High School Hockey, as the commentator for the state tournament. Nanne had been approached by restaurateurs for decades, but had always turned them down, until this local opportunity came his way.

McDermott has recruited Josh Hill, who has been the executive chef at Manny’s Steakhouse for the past seven years, to run the Lou Nanne’s kitchen. Hill is also a Cosmos and Red Stag Supper club past master.

The atmosphere will embody contemporary and urban style, with exposed brick and modern furniture in a relaxed environment.

Just Ice – Think Twice

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Rita’s Italian Ice, the world’s largest ritaiceItalian Ice brand with more than 600 stores, will welcome its newest Rita’s Café location in Bloomington in April. The company announced the testing and introduction of a new Rita’s Cafe concept earlier this spring as an exciting evolution of the brands’ beloved frozen treat offerings, which will now include fresh donuts, coffee and specialty drinks in addition to its signature Italian Ice and famous Frozen Custard. Edina locals and Minnesota area developers Angela and Adam Ailloni are proudly bringing the new cafe concept to the area — one of just five Rita’s Cafe locations in the U.S.

“Both Adam and myself are from the East Coast and have been lifelong Rita’s fans,” said Angela Ailloni. “After opening our first location in Eagan in 2014, we have seen a tremendous amount of growth in the area and we’re thrilled to continue that trend with this new and exciting Cafe offering. We can’t wait to introduce our local Rita’s fans to our expanded menu featuring fresh donuts and coffee!”

In addition to Rita’s signature Italian Ice and Frozen Custard, the Rita’s Cafe of Bloomington will feature organic, single-origin Dunn Brothers Coffee under its “Proudly Pouring” program, and its menu will include unique donut creations such as Maple Walnut and Cotton Candy Confetti, as well as create-your-own options — customizing a freshly made Vanilla Cake Donut with a variety of icings and toppings of choice. Rita’s Cafe of Bloomington will also offer new items that combine fresh donuts into frozen treats such as a Donut Blendini, and specialty beverages combining Rita’s award-winning Frozen Custard with Dunn Brothers Coffee.  Rita’s Café will also offer a full line of hot and cold coffee and espresso drinks.  The location is also planned to be Kosher through MSP Kosher supervision.

“Rita’s Cafes are an exciting new way for us to serve our guests from morning until night by offering delicious products that naturally fit within our fan-favorite frozen treats,” said Eric Taylor, chief development officer at Rita’s Italian Ice. “Angela and Adam have already done a fantastic job developing the state of Minnesota and we’re thrilled that they have chosen to bring the new cafe concept for locals to love and enjoy.”

The new Rita’s Cafe is located at the corner of France Ave. and Old Shakopee Road in the new Park Place Plaza and will feature indoor and plaza outdoor seating.

Rita’s locations in Minnesota are in Eagan, Valleyfair, Stillwater, and Maple Grove.  Others are opening soon in Apple Valley and a second store in Eagan.

With more than 30 years in business, Rita’s Italian Ice has been aggressively expanding across the United States and internationally, with locations now open in Canada, the Philippines, Middle East and Caribbean.