El Burrito Mercado's restaurant closes for a brief refresh

El Burrito Mercado's restaurant and bar is briefly closed for a refresh.

The beloved St. Paul eatery, popular for its large margaritas and classic Mexican dishes from the Silva family, temporarily halted operations Feb. 5 for a couple of weeks as the space gets a remodeling and a few upgrades. Co-owner Milissa Silva said the restaurant is switching to a counter-service concept that is more in line with the casual vibe of the market.

"We are keeping our traditional foods and adding some new favorites like flautas, carne asada fries and churros," she said. "Plus we're adding specialty coffees and licuados [healthy blended fruit smoothies]."

But not everything will change.

"We'll still have mariachi every other Friday starting in March and a full bar," Silva said, and the patio and food trailer will open in time for Cinco de Mayo.

El Burrito Mercado was founded by Milissa's parents, Tomas and Maria Silva, in 1979 as a small community market serving the area's growing Mexican population. The restaurant opened in 1995, and a full bar was added years later. In 2016, Maria and Tomas retired, passing the business to daughters Milissa and Suzie and granddaughter Analita.

The market and deli — at 175 Cesar Chavez St., St. Paul, elburritomercado.com — remains open.

A coffee shop is once again keeping a corner of Minneapolis' Whittier neighborhood caffeinated.

St. Paul-based SK Coffee has expanded into the former Misfit/Muddy Waters location at 2401 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., skcoffeeplease.com, and quietly opened over the weekend.

Part of a wave of fresh coffee shops opening around the city, the roastery is known for its laser focus on single-origin coffee. Look for baked goods from Laune Bread and Vikings & Goddesses Pie Co., too.

Plans are moving forward for a third Slice Pizza (sliceminneapolis.com) location at the intersection of University Avenue and Dale Street in St. Paul. Adam Kado and Hosie Thurmond's New York-styled Slice shop has two Minneapolis locations: at 519 E. Hennepin Av. and inside Midtown Global Market.

The new outpost is in the permit stages, but if all goes well, look for a spring opening.

Known as the home of some of the city's most gorgeous pastries, Marc Heu Patisserie Paris will relocate the bakery from its original Frogtown location (383 W. University Av., St. Paul, marcheuparis.com) to a historic, recently refurbished building near the intersection of Selby Avenue and Dale Street in St. Paul's Cathedral Hill neighborhood.

Owners Gaosong and Marc Heu plan to move this spring to the space that also includes enough room for a summer patio. Once up and rolling, expanded offerings are planned — including the possibility of a full bistro menu and beer and wine.

Butcher & the Boar is back, and is now located at 901 N. 3rd. St. in Minneapolis' North Loop. The meat- and bourbon-fueled eatery has begun its new era under the Jester Concepts umbrella with a fresh dining room, open kitchen, large bar, penny-tiled floor and a large private dining room named for Butcher's founding chef and original owner, Jack Riebel.

The restaurant hosted a fundraiser and a few practice meals last week, but the full hours are now available: 4-11 p.m. Sun.-Thu. and 4 p.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat. Find reservations on Tock (butcherandtheboarmpls.com); walk-in seats are available, too.