Bachelor Farmer alumni to bring French-inspired burgers and cocktails to Linden Hills

The Bachelor Farmer, the acclaimed Minneapolis restaurant that closed early in the pandemic, gave the local culinary scene a lot of things. One thing it didn’t give us: a burger.

But Jonathan Gans and Josh Hoyt, the executive chef and director of operations, respectively, of the former Bachelor Farmer, are now turning their attention to the burger. Make that “le burger.”

Their French-inspired take on the humble American icon of a sandwich will move into great-food-packed Linden Hills this fall.

Le Burger 4304, at 4304 Upton Av. S., ponders what would result “if a couple American guys went to Paris and opened a burger place,” Gans said. “We want it to be very fun and casual, really family-friendly, but just really high-quality ingredients and the same level of detail and all the stuff that we would do at TBF.”

That doesn’t mean they’ll be serving a modern Scandinavian meat patty on smørrebrød. Rather, it’s the ethos of TBF that they are reviving in burger form.

“We don’t want to take for granted that it’s just burgers and that that means we shouldn’t care about the ingredients and the technique,” Gans said. “We want to be as thoughtful and intentional as we would anywhere else, just apply it to burgers.”

Gans and Hoyt are partnering with John Gross (Sanjusan, Kado no Mise).

Gans, who was responsible for Churchill Street’s renowned smashburger, will lean French with his flavors, sandwich-ifying some classic French dishes, like chicken cordon bleu, and “maybe taking some plays from French onion soup kind of vibes,” he said. There will be about 10 different burgers and sandwiches on the menu, including house-made veggie patties.

“And then we’re spending an inordinate amount of time and effort to make really delicious French fries,” Gans said. “Hand cut and three times cooked, and all the stuff.”

Roast chicken will be sold by the piece. They’ll have soft-serve ice cream for dessert. Plus, beer, wine and “brilliantly stunning versions of some classic cocktails” on tap from Peder Schweigert, another TBF/Marvel Bar alum. Schweigert’s Dry Wit brand of nonalcoholic beverages will also be available.

The counter-service restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner daily, with an eye on early fall.

Minneapolis’ new cafe Darling is now open and serving inside the former Birchwood location at 3311 E. 25th St. Juell and Ray Roberts, the owners of Peoples Organic— and the former personal chefs to Prince — opened the restaurant along with Mike Smith, a real estate agent and owner of Hi-Lo Diner, and Jeff Zajac.

On the menu are Dutch babies, corned beef hash, breakfast burritos and more, including gluten-free and vegan items.

The restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

The next outpost of Sarah and Brian Ingram’s Hope Breakfast Bar will open in Edina (7585 France Av. S.) on Wednesday and reservations are now available. Just like the other locations in St. Paul and Eagan, this Hope Breakfast Bar will serve a combination of sweet and savory breakfast foods all day with a full bar and coffee program.

The burgeoning restaurant chain is on the move to open another outpost in Woodbury this summer, with more plans on the way.

The metro’s first Qahwah House coffee shop is expected to open in Northeast this fall in the former home of Half Fancy and the Mill Northeast at 1851 Central Av. NE.

Aslam Jamal will open Minnesota’s first location of the coffee house, which was established in 2017. It serves espresso, drip coffee, sweet treats and coffee beans imported from Yemen.

The opening follows the immediate success of Qamaria, another Yemeni coffee house chain that opened an outpost in Little Canada. That company is working on a second location in the south metro area.