When James Beard Award-winning chef Tim McKee, the La Belle Vie trailblazer, announced in August his intentions to open a Spanish restaurant in Minneapolis' North Loop in 2023, details were hazy.
Now, the picture is becoming clearer, with news of a new hotel opening in Minneapolis next year.
Salt Hotels, which operates boutique lodging in several cities, mostly on the East Coast, will launch the West Hotel in a development on the corner of 2nd Avenue N. and N. 1st Street.
And there's more: In addition to a Basque-inspired restaurant featuring pintxos and other dishes cooked over charcoal, McKee will spearhead an Eastern Mediterranean-inspired bakery that will utilize a wood-fired oven. McKee is also overseeing the hotel's events and in-room dining.
Also on the West Hotel's roster are a lobby fireside lounge, a stone cellar cocktail bar, a rooftop bar with city views, an outdoor dining patio and flexible event spaces.
The 123-room property, developed by Commutator and designed by Neri&Hu and Snow Kreilich Architects, will utilize two existing buildings — the Roe Wolfe building at 121 N. 1st St. and the Foundry building at 125 N. 1st St. — with new construction in between. The Roe Wolfe building's historically significant façade will be maintained.
(Commutator's John Gross is a partner in several Minneapolis restaurants, including North Loop neighbors Kado no Mise, Kaiseki Furukawa, Gori Gori Peku and Sanjusan.)
The West Hotel's lobby, which includes a bar, will be located inside the former brass foundry on a corner that is about to see new culinary life next year.
