Former Sofitel landing a new restaurant

A new restaurant is going into the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel — it's the 1970s landmark formerly known as the Hotel Sofitel, anchoring the northwest corner of I-494 and Hwy. 100 — but let's get one thing straight right from the start: it's not a hotel restaurant.

Yes, there's an overlap in ownership. Sort of. WB Hotel Partners — the WB is Warren Beck, developer of the Galleria mall in Edina — purchased the property in October 2013.

But the restaurant, Lela, is a separate business entity, a partnership between Beck and longtime collaborator Paul Wischermann.

Also, while Lela occupies roughly two-thirds of the footprint of the hotel's previous dining-and-drinking establishments (longtime diners will remember them as Colette Bar & Bistro, Chez Colette, La Fougasse, La Terrace, Cafe Royal, Le Petit Marche bakery and others), Lela is keeping its distance from the hotel by maintaining its own entrance, one that opens to the parking lot and not the hotel's lobby.

"It's a stand-alone concept with stand-alone management," said Wischermann.

Designed by ESG of Minneapolis, the L-shaped, 200-seat restaurant and bar will boast all kinds of contemporary bells and whistles, including a showy wine display, a lively front-row-seat kitchen counter, private dining facilities and a yup-to-the-minute brown/tan/bronze/cream color palette. One dining room will flank the roomy bar, the other will have views into the kitchen. A south-facing patio is on its way, too. "We want to bring an urban-style concept to the suburbs," said Beck.

The menu is on trend, too, with a three-part emphasis: steak (available in a variety of sizes and cuts), crudo (but not sushi) and pasta (fresh and dry, prepared on the premises), tailored to suit small appetites as well as shared plates, along with gluten-free, low-carb, pescetarian and other diverse dietary habits. The bar will concentrate on craft cocktails and maintain an ambitious wine list.

No chef yet. "We're in the middle of finalizing a chef, but we can't make that announcement at this time," said Wischermann.

But there is a general manager on board. He's Haykel Arfaoui, recruited from Atlanta, where he has spent more than a decade at restaurants including Cheeky and the former Couscous, Amuse! and Perla Taqueria.

Beck and Wischermann (pictured, above, in a provided photo) have been business partners for more than a decade, starting when Beck developed the Westin Edina Galleria Hotel and Wischermann Partners signed on to operate it. When Texas-based Hines Global REIT purchased the Galleria in 2012 for $127 million, Beck retained ownership of the adjoining Westin hotel. As for Wischermann Partners, the Minnetonka-based firm currently manages more 14 hotels, restaurants and other properties in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Hartford and the Twin Cities.

Construction crews aren't limited to the restaurant; the Sheraton is also undergoing a renovation. "It always was and continues to be a special place," said Beck. "We hear that from so many people, who have so many amazing memories. And now we're going to add what we hope is just a very popular restaurant that has a very accessible and highly visible address."

Lela will serve lunch and dinner (no breakfast; the Sheraton's separate food-and-beverage operations will handle the morning meal for hotel guests), with a second-half-of-June opening date. As for the name, it's a mash-up.