Well, that didn't last long. Prime 6 quietly closed its doors on Tuesday night.
The restaurant, located at the 6th-and-Hennepin corner of the City Center complex in downtown Minneapolis, opened in February.
According to a spokesperson, executive chef/partner Youssef Darbaki and his ownership team hoped to renegotiate the restaurant's lease but couldn't come to an agreement with the building's management.
The restaurant featured an around-the-world menu, everything from potstickers and quesadillas to burgers, sushi, pasta and steaks ("The Pangea of food," Darbaki told the Star Tribune last fall, prior to the restaurant's launch) and had just launched a Sunday gospel brunch.
"We are devastated by this surprising turn of events, and we are sorry to disappoint our clientele," said Darbaki in a statement.
Is City Center's 6th-and-Hennepin corner a cursed address? The vast space has certainly hosted a parade of restaurants since the mammoth mixed-use complex opened in 1983. New York City-based Rosa Mexicano was the most recent previous tenant, closing in 2016 after a five-year run. Previous restaurants include TGI Friday's, Italianni's, Chi-Chi's and the original occupant, Ol' Mexico.
Despite its proximity to Target Center and Target Field, 6th-and-Hennepin is a tough commercial corner. Although the GoldRoom Restaurant & Lounge recently opened kitty-corner from the Prime 6 spot -- on the ground floor of the Hennepin Center for the Arts -- the storefronts at intersection's two other corners have remained dark, for years.
But what a difference a block makes, because the 7th-and-Hennepin corner is anchored by three enormous restaurants -- Seven, City Works and Fogo de Chao.
