After devastating fire, Khue’s Kitchen finds new St. Paul restaurant location

Chef Eric Pham announced this week that his restaurant Khue’s Kitchen will open March 6 inside MidCity Kitchen. It’s an exciting endeavor after a dramatic year for Pham and the restaurant.

Started as a pandemic ghost kitchen, then pop-up, Khue’s Kitchen is a tribute to Pham’s mother, Khue, and his personal history with Minneapolis restaurants. In August, Pham was days away from opening his first full-time restaurant location on St. Paul’s University Avenue, in the former Ngon location, when a fire destroyed those plans. “The whole building went up in flames,” Pham told the Star Tribune at the time. “There’s nothing really left to salvage.”

The community rallied around Pham, who turned crowdfunding, insurance and more pop-ups into a renewed dedication to finding a way to open. Now the restaurant will open inside the commercial kitchen and event space at 693 Raymond Av.

Stay tuned to Khue’s Kitchen Instagram page for more details.

It’s a return to the 651 side of town as Two Mixed Up heads to Maplewood neighborhood bar Bleechers with a kitchen takeover starting March 1.

“A lot of our customers come to us from Wisconsin, St. Paul and Maplewood,” said Katelyn Williams. She’s one of the four founders of Two Mixed Up, along with E.J. Williams and Sophie and Emilio Estevez.

The business began as a collaboration between the couples, who were neighbors with a deep appreciation for food. It spent its early days inside the B-Dale Club in Roseville and now has a stand inside Graze Food Hall in the North Loop, with a growing presence at area stadiums and a deep fandom for their comfort food menu, led by the humbly named Justaburger.

“We were looking at locations in the east metro,” said Williams. The opportunity to work inside Bleechers (2220 N. White Bear Av., Maplewood) came through industry connections, and the fit seemed too good to pass up for both businesses.

“I typically introduce our bar as a women-owned, small, local dive bar,” said Lan Nguyen-Julson, Bleechers' manager and the daughter of owner Dao Hoang, who took over the bar in 2018. They call it a sports bar, but there are karaoke nights, bingo, darts, pulltabs — all the good hallmarks of a neighborhood watering hole.

“Some of our main dishes will be sold at Bleechers, and we’ll see what sticks over there,” said Williams. Others will return, like the wings and the chicken sandwich — dishes fans have missed at Graze. Plus, there are the sweets from Sophie Estevez. “We’re thinking about doing our apple crisp out there,” said Williams.

“We’ve been talking up their menu quite a bit,” said Nguyen-Julson.

It’s just the beginning of what the Two Mixed Up crew expects to be a big season. They’re also looking forward to returning to Target Field this spring during the Twins 2025 season.

It’s a new era for the long beloved Beirut Restaurant with the opening of Beirut Lebanese Street Food & Catering in Rosemount. After more than 40 years on St. Paul’s Robert Street, the restaurant has relocated to 14873 Robert Trail.

It’s the continuation of a legacy for John Khoury. His parents first opened the restaurant in 1983 and it soon became a treasured part of the culinary landscape. In its new era, the restaurant is more quick-service and casual with kebabs, wraps and hummus bowls. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mon.-Sat.

The former Black Sheep Pizza on Robert Street has landed a new owner that knows a few things about great pizza. Prince Coal Fired Pizza will open in the location that’s been dark since 2022. The new restaurant is the work of the same owners as Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks and Frank From Philly & Andrea Pizza.

The new restaurant is part of an expansion for the company that has opened several new Tono locations around the metro area. Look for the fires to get rolling in April.

Sarah and Brian Ingram’s Hope Breakfast Bar is still in growth mode.

The all-day breakfast restaurant will open next in Blaine (10950 Club West Pkwy.), and a representative for the company confirmed to the Star Tribune that paperwork has been signed for a Maple Grove outpost. That’s just part of even larger plans: If all goes as expected, 2025 also will see Hope Breakfast Bars taking shape in Roseville and Wayzata.

There are already seven Hope Breakfast Bar locations: Eagan, Edina, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Woodbury and a stand inside Gillette Children’s Hospital.

The restaurant started in a historic St. Paul firehouse with decadent twists on classics, like red velvet waffles, shrimp and grits with fried chicken skin, elaborate lattes and more. Dedication to the eateries grew alongside Ingram’s stories of doing good through a charitable component of the eateries, where they regularly gave away meals and hosted food shelves during the pandemic. The Give Hope arm of the business drew the attention of the state Attorney General’s Office, which directed them to shut down 501(c)(3) claims as they hadn’t filed the proper paperwork with the state to operate as a nonprofit.

The Ingrams' restaurants continue to lean into the Share Hope messaging, with prayer cards available on all tables.

For those who want to have a bigger part in the expansion plans, Hope Breakfast Bar is also launching a membership option, where fans can buy in for $200 a year or $20 a month and receive perks like one free entree a month, 10% off every time they dine in, priority reservations, birthday rewards, special access and more.

St. Pierre’s Steak and Seafood, the new sort-of ode to Burch Steak from Nancy St. Pierre and James Beard Award-winning chef Isaac Becker, is now accepting reservations for its March 11 opening. The restaurant is a reimagining of Snack Bar, the small restaurant adjacent to their Bar La Grassa at 800 Washington Av. N., that will pay homage to their former Minneapolis steakhouse.

The new restaurant is named for St. Pierre, who has led the hospitality front of the couple’s restaurants since opening their first, 112 Eatery, in 2005.

“Nancy has been my partner from the beginning and hasn’t received the same attention for her hard work and passion, mostly because she never wanted it,” Becker told the Star Tribune. “For our latest restaurant, I wanted to give her the recognition she deserves.”

Look for a menu of steak, fresh seafood (we’re hoping for the return of the crab and seabean salad) and maybe a few new favorites. St. Pierre’s menu hasn’t been released yet.

Herbie Butcher’s Fried Chicken will take an “indefinite sabbatical” starting March 30. But the good news is that the vegan fried chicken from the Herbivorous Butcher crew will still be available in strip form at J. Selby’s in St. Paul and frozen in the H.B. storefront (507 1st Av. NE., Mpls.).

The announcement came via Instagram, where HBFC’s page said, “Herbie Butcher’s Fried Chicken may be taking a break, but its legacy — and its crunch — will live on!" Until that last day, Herbie’s (735 East 48th St., Mpls.) will be open every Saturday and Sunday from noon until 7 p.m.

Chef Peter Hoff of NOLO’s Kitchen and Bar in the North Loop has launched Seven Bridges Yum Yum Sauce, bottling up the popular condiment from the restaurant.

Find Seven Bridges Yum Yum Sauce in grocery stores around the Twin Cities, including Jerry’s Foods, Hy-Vee, Kowalski’s and Brookie’s Fish Market; a 13-ounce bottle is $5.99 (prices vary). Duluthians will recognize the chef’s chosen name for the sauce is a hat tip to his hometown’s famous Seven Bridges Road.

Bayport is hosting an outdoor Brrr Crawl through the cold with fun food specials, an ice bar, ice sculptures and more Sat., Feb. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Participating restaurants include Olio, Manger, the American Legion, Not Justa Bar and Woody’s Bar and Grill. Tickets are $20 and include discounts, freebies and more fun. Find more details on the Facebook event page.

Perhaps best of all is that the weather is forecasting almost freezing temperatures, which is practically a heat wave after this week’s subzero temps.

Mark your calendars: The fifth annual Eagan Restaurant Week kicks off March 24-30 and will celebrate all the good local eats. Diners can explore the menus of 20 of the city’s eateries with special menu items and discounts with the free Eagan Restaurant Week Pass available online. Participating restaurants include El Sazon, Mason Jar, Saffron Indian Grill, Hope Breakfast Bar and more. Check the city of Eagan’s website for more information.