New 'world cuisine' restaurant filling massive Rosa Mexicano space in downtown Minneapolis

The 11,000-square foot, prime-corner space on Hennepin Av. formerly occupied by Rosa Mexicano will get new life – just in time for the Super Bowl.

Prime Six, a restaurant serving "world cuisine" and featuring a dance floor is aiming to open at 609 Hennepin Av. by mid December.

The old Rosa Mexicano outlet – an upscale Mexican restaurant based in New York – shuttered just over a year ago after a five-year run. The vastness of the space was believed to be a factor in the closing.

But in its place comes a project just as large in scale, the latest from local soccer mogul Youssef Darbaki, who has in the past helped to open concepts like South Beach, Bellanotte and Seven Steakhouse. South Beach and Bellanotte have since closed.

"I looked at the space and thought this was exactly what I was looking for," Darbaki said. "I've had this concept in mind for a couple years and this seemed like the perfect fit: a high traffic area, close to Target Center and a corner location."

That concept: basically a mish-mash of the other restaurants of which he's been a part. So think steak and sushi, Caribbean, French, seafood and Italian foods.

"It's going to be the Pangea of food," said Darbaki, who will remain director of the Minnesota Twinstars Academy but will no longer coach. "Everything is going to be connected."

The space will be broken down into an area for corporate events on the south side of the space and the main dining room and the building's north side. There, diners will find a sushi bar, dining tables, a dance floor and a main bar with a honey onyx counter top – a signature touch in every restaurant Darbaki has been involved with. Minneapolis restaurateur David Koch is acting as consultant.

"It's going to look completely different," Darbaki said. "It's going to be modern – old and new, there's going to be a wow factor for sure."