Be'wiched Deli, the first-rate sandwich destination, with locations in the North Loop and Plymouth, quietly closed last week.
"It was a good run," said chef/co-owner Mike Ryan. "Restaurants have life spans, and they close all the time. You have to evolve with the market. I'm a nine-dollar-sandwich joint, not a 12-dollar-cocktail place."
The closing is a major loss. When they opened their revolutionary counter-service outfit, Ryan and co-owner Matthew Bickford introduced a smart, seemingly recession-proof business plan: to channel the high-end culinary practices that they'd amassed in high-end kitchens (including Restaurant Alma and the former La Belle Vie and D'Amico Cucina) into elevating the humble, taken-for-granted sandwich.
By scrutinizing every detail in the sandwich-making process, from technique to ingredients, Be'wiched transformed an everyday staple into an occasion. The kitchen's output radiated craftsmanship, and elegance, rarities in today's Jimmy John's/Subway/Potbelly universe.
The pair expanded to Eat Street in 2012, but rather than clone Be'wiched, they opened Icehouse (2528 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., 612-276-6523, icehousempls.com), a music-focused venue. Bickford eventually took over that property's operations, and Ryan concentrated on Be'wiched. Icehouse remains open, where Ryan continues to be an equal partner.
"I've loved being my own boss for these past 10 years — it's the best job I've ever had," he said. "But I'm not too proud to work for someone else. Shake Shack is opening near Southdale, and you can bet that they're going to get my résumé. It's a very well-run company, with a great product, and I can get behind that."
Capital City closings
Meanwhile, in St. Paul, Fern's Bar & Grill, a Cathedral Hill staple for more than a quarter-century, closed this week.
Fern's — which spent most of its nearly 27 years as Fabulous Fern's, and took an All-American approach to food and drink — struggled in recent years. In 2017, owner Dan Dahlin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
