The Camden Social is now open in north Minneapolis, and more restaurant news

Also: Slice in St. Paul, Maple Grove's pickleball party spot and Oktoberfest celebrations.

September 22, 2023 at 3:44PM
Provided Slice pizza co-owners Hosie Thurmond, left, and Adam Kado. (Provided/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Top-shelf food and drink in north Minneapolis

The Camden Social is now open in north Minneapolis as a neighborhood social destination under powerhouse couples Brittany and Gerard Klass of Soul Bowl and Kathryn and Alfonso Mayfield of Allure Cigars. Studio Grey gave the space at 4601 Lyndale Av. N. a sleek makeover, and the full bar is serving top-shelf cocktails.

The menu is led by chef Antonio Murray, who ran the kitchen at the Lexington for a time. The menu includes items like the Camden wings, smoked salmon croquettes, smoked blue cheese and bibb lettuce salad, Guinness filet, shrimp and chicken étouffée and more.

In addition to food and drinks, there's a selection of cigars available for purchase. The Camden Social (thecamdensocial.com) is open Tuesday through Sunday from 3 p.m. to late.

Soul Bowl shutters its Richfield location

Gerard and Brittany Klass gave us two years of Soul Bowl tastiness in Richfield, but in a recent social media post the fast-casual restaurant announced the immediate closure of its second location. "We are forever grateful to our friends at Galaxy for the opportunity to serve the Richfield community. We hope that you will all join us at our North Loop location to get all your favorite bowls."

Soul Bowl's location inside the Graze food hall (520 N. 4th St., Mpls., soulbowlmn.com) will continue to operate normal hours.

Maple Grove's new pickleball party spot is now serving

Pints & Paddle is now open in Maple Grove between Target and Home Depot at 15450 Grove Circle N. (pintsandpaddle.com). The restaurant/bar and indoor pickleball court is one-stop fun. There's a self-serve beer wall with more than 70 taps, a bar that was touting its Grape Apes during the Vikes game, and an extensive beverage-friendly menu at Malone's Bar and Grill, located inside the taproom. There's even a patio to relax between games while the warm weather lasts.

If you're working on honing those pickleball skills, there are clinics available with coaches to help refine your game. Pints & Paddle is open seven days a week.

Uptown's new Latin nightclub is lighting up the night

Rumba, a "Latinx nightclub," is now open and serving up drinks, food and dance nights (2943 Girard Av. S., Mpls., rumbauptown.com). Chefs Cesar Castañeda and Santiago Hernández have built a menu of both elevated snacks and entrees with guacamole con salsa macha, aguachile with salmon and passion fruit, langosta tacos and more. Cocktails are tropical with a selection of agave spirits along with a mojito, margarita, pisco sour, caipirinha and more.

Slice continues its pizza slice expansion

Slice Brothers Pizza, which was founded by friends Adam Kado and Hosie Thurmond and is the first Black-owned pizzeria in Minneapolis, continues its expansion with a new shop now open on University Avenue and Dale Street in St. Paul.

Serving New York-style pizzas and pizzas by the slice, this third outlet is open for lunch and dinner daily. The new storefront (641 W. University Av., St. Paul, slicebrothersusa.com) joins shops in the Midtown Global Market and on E. Hennepin Avenue.

There's still time to celebrate Oktoberfest

Forget the fact that most Oktoberfests are celebrated in September and enjoy these events:

There are two weeks left of Mason Jar Kitchen & Bar's (1565 Cliff Road, Eagan, masonjar.kitchen) Oktoberfest celebrations — Sept. 22 and 29 from 4-8 p.m. Get brats with sauerkraut, Bavarian burgers on pretzel buns, German chocolate cupcakes, Oktoberfest beers, music, games and more on the patio, rain or shine. No reservations needed, must be 21 or older.

Head to the rooftop at the Lexington (1096 Grand Av. St. Paul, thelexmn.com) Sept. 25 from 4-6 p.m. for live music, $6 Summit pours and German fare, including schnitzel sandwiches, brats, pretzels and more. If you're into the spirit of Oktoberfest but not the food, the regular menu is available, too.

Back Channel Brewing (4787 Shoreline Drive, Spring Park, backchannelbrewing.com) is combining its anniversary celebration with Oktoberfest Sept. 23 from noon-10 p.m. featuring games, costume contests and food from Parlour's food truck and trailer. In addition to the mobile Parlour's normal offerings, find turkey legs, sausage on a stick, pickles on a stick and pretzels.

And Tria (5959 Centerville Road, North Oaks, triarestaurant.com) is celebrating Oct. 3-8 with menu specials that include brotzeit, weiner schnitzel with spaetzle and sauerkraut, braised pork with dumplings and sweet and sour cabbage and more.

Date night!

The popularity of the date-night special at Jester Concepts' P.S. Steak has prompted the restaurant group to expand it to their other locations, too. Date-night menus (with a shared dessert) are available Sundays through Thursdays at Borough (730 Washington Av. N., Mpls., boroughmpls.com, $80), Butcher & the Boar (901 N. 3rd St., Mpls., butcherandtheboarmpls.com, $100) in addition to P.S. Steak (510 Groveland Av., Mpls., psmpls.com, $100).

Let's review

In case you missed it, the historic Band Box Diner (729 S. 10th St., Mpls.) has reopened; it's been closed since March 2020. Get your short-order fare starting at 9 a.m. Wed.-Sat. And the groundbreaking Indigenous restaurant Owamni (420 S. 1st St., Mpls., owamni.com) and its Tatanka Truck technically has changed hands and is now owned by chef Sean Sherman's nonprofit, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS). Sherman will still provide "visionary and management oversight" to the restaurant, according to a statement.

about the writer

about the writer

Joy Summers

Food and Drink Reporter

Joy Summers is a St. Paul-based food reporter who has been covering Twin Cities restaurants since 2010. She joined the Star Tribune in 2021. 

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