Restaurant news: Borough/Parlour and Fika name new chefs

William Karon is the new chef de cuisine at Borough and Parlour, the upstairs-downstairs North Loop restaurants at 730 Washington Av. N., Mpls.

Karon has worked at such locally lauded restaurants as St. Genevieve, Esker Grove, Kado No Mise and Burch Steak. His new Borough menu draws both from his experiences at those restaurants and from his South American roots. New items include Bronzino aguachile; celery root gnocchi; duck with orange, parsnip, fingerling potatoes and persimmon; and culurgiones with potato, smoked tomato and shiso.

Borough and Parlour are from Jester Concepts. Parlour is known for its decadent smash burger and cocktails, while Borough has always leaned a bit more toward fine dining in its fare. Jester Concepts also owns P.S. Steak, Parlour St. Paul, Monello and Constantine.

There's also a changing of the guard at Fika, the acclaimed restaurant inside the American Swedish Institute. Amalia Obermeier-Smith is the new executive chef.

Formerly of Fig & Farro, Patisserie 46 and the Walker Art Center, Obermeier-Smith specializes in sweet and savory pastries. Nadya Goncharova, ASI's food and beverage director, said the new chef will help the restaurant expand its pastry case, bring new vegetarian and vegan options to the menu, and collaborate with the ASI's culinary classes.

The ASI is at 2600 Park Av., Mpls., asimn.org.

Provision Community Restaurant (2940 Harriet Av., Mpls.) announced that its final service will be Nov. 27. The nonprofit daytime Minneapolis cafe has utilized a pay-what-you-can model since opening in the fall of 2019. In a statement, the restaurant said it would continue to focus on fighting food insecurity by working with area shelters.

There were lines, face painting and lots of doughnuts this weekend as Donut Star (2901 Cliff Road E., Burnsville) hosted a grand opening under its new ownership. Peter Sebastian of Estelle and Mario's in St. Paul, purchased the 50-year-old shop earlier this year and has been working to update the space and doughnuts. The doughnuts are now made entirely from scratch, thanks to some help from Emily Poole, formerly of Cardigan Donuts. The shop is open Wed.-Sun. from 6 a.m.-2 p.m.

The growing Taco Libre has opened its fifth location in Roseville. The new address joins other restaurants in Eagan, West St. Paul, Edina and Oakdale. The fast-casual local restaurant chain known for its street tacos has opened in a strip mall at 2111 Snelling Av. N., across from the Har Mar Mall. The restaurants open at 10 a.m. daily, staying open until 10 p.m. Sun.-Thu. and until 11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.