Du Nord’s comeback cocktail room serving Lake Street once more

It was never a question of whether they’d be back, but now the wait is finally over. Du Nord Cocktail Room has officially returned to Minneapolis, opening over the weekend. The bar and restaurant space is humming once again, thanks to Shanelle and Chris Montana. Plus, this time there’s a kitchen.

In 2015, Du Nord became the first local distillery to open a cocktail room and was celebrated for its imaginative drinks. Immediately after the building burned down amid the 2020 uprising that rocked the neighborhood, forever changing its landscape, the Montanas vowed to return. After a detour through nonprofit support for the neighborhood and a relocation to New Orleans for the couple and their young family, we can now sip on these spirits not far from where it all started.

Du Nord Cocktail Room is the first phase of a two-part business venture for the Montanas. They brought in friend and New Orleans chef Brad McGehee, who has built a Creole-seasoned menu for the cocktail room and will help put together the menu for the second phase, the restaurant Lagniappe.

McGehee was excited to show off the menu when we stopped in, chatting about turtle soup and how hard it was to source boudin in Minneapolis. The chef said he and his sons love to go frog hunting, and in the future we could likely get some proper fried frog’s legs on this bar menu.

For now there are casual bites, like a selection of po’boys made on Trung Nam’s distinctive demi baguettes. “We tried every kind of bread for these and this was hands down the best,” said Chris Montana. “The best bakeries in New Orleans are Vietnamese-owned bakeries, too.” His favorite is the roast beef ($16), but there is also fried oyster ($17) and a fried green tomato ($16). The off-menu pro move, according to Montana, is to add fried shrimp.

There’s also a burger, shrimp and grits and other Louisiana-flavored comfort dishes to pair with the drinks.

Cocktails mostly center around Du Nord spirits, but because of the expanded restaurant liquor license, there are a few other products available for the drinks. The Frida ($13) is a Negroni made with Du Nord gin and their coffee liqueur. A more adventurous beverage is the Chicken Hawk ($14), with Du Nord whiskey, apple liqueur, chicken broth and lemon bitters.

The cocktail room is open Tuesdays through Sunday evenings. Next up: Lagniappe will open Oct. 11.

Hope Breakfast Bar, the early day eatery from Sarah and Brian Ingram, has opened in Minneapolis’ restaurant-dense North Loop neighborhood. Part of a burgeoning chain, the eatery from Purpose Restaurants also has locations in Edina, Eagan, St. Louis Park, Woodbury and the original in St. Paul. Offering grab-and-go options with counter service, the North Loop spot (350 N. 5th St., hopebreakfast.com) is part of a larger development for the company near the new North Loop Green park. Also opening soon is its pasta-focused restaurant Salt & Flour. Look for more information on that one later this month.

The owners of Sugar & Salt cafe, formerly known as La La Ice Homemade Cream, have decided to close; the last day is Oct. 4. In a statement posted to its Instagram page, the cafe’s owners said that after all of the battles La La had won, it ultimately lost the war. The decision to close came about “with the slow demise of Uptown with so many businesses closing, lack of parking, lack of city support and general fears of exploring Uptown.”

Jennifer Lisburg founded La La Homemade Ice Cream as a small storefront in south Minneapolis in 1993 before she moved around the state, bringing La La with her. The shop returned to Minneapolis and opened in its current Uptown location (3146 Hennepin Av. S.) in late summer 2016. She rebranded as Sugar & Salt cafe this spring, telling the Star Tribune, “I found that after being in the Uptown spot for seven years, regular customers didn’t realize there was food being served.”

Unfortunately, the shift just wasn’t enough. The storefront is open limited hours through Friday, or until supplies run out.

Axels’ flagship location has closed. Located in the historic Parker House building at 1318 Sibley Memorial Hwy., Mendota, Axels served steaks and memories for 29 years. Founded by Linda Young and Charlie Burrows, the restaurant near the Mississippi River was styled as a modern supper club with steakhouse fare and a stately interior.

Young passed away in 2018. Burrows is now a partner with Eclectic Culinary Concepts, which also owns Pajarito, Lucky’s 13 Pub, the Clover, Yankee Tavern, Me & Julio, the Mudd Room and Tru Blu Social Club. Burrows is also a part owner of LuLu’s Public House at the State Fair.

One Axels remains: the Roseville steakhouse at the DoubleTree by Hilton.

Flying in the face of the season, Stillwater’s Devil’s Advocate will close and says that part of the reason is its implied dark side. Restaurant owner Erik Forsberg said they’ve received feedback from guests who liked the food, but not the low-key devilish vibes.

First opened in February 2022 with a crowd-pleasing menu of pizzas, sandwiches and larger entrees, the restaurant hoped to be a slightly more fancy than casual neighborhood gathering spot. With a few winks and nods to religious iconography on the walls and other facetious references, it apparently didn’t quite land — or last the way the team hoped. Instead, they’ve launched an online survey asking for input on what should come next. Forsberg noted that he also owns the Stillwater diner Joseph’s and is committed to finding the right fit to serve the area.

In the meantime, Devil’s Advocate Stillwater will hang on until All Hallows Eve or the end of October before closing. The downtown Minneapolis location is unaffected.

The founder of several 1980s-era Minneapolis dining institutions, John White died Sept. 21 at the age of 83 in Fort Myers, Fla. White was the co-founder of Twin Cities dining institutions like Sgt. Preston’s, the Loon Cafe, J.D. Hoyt’s, Dixies on Grand, Saji-Ya, the Pickled Parrot, Liquor Lyle’s, Dixie’s Calhoun and Paradise Grill.

White partnered with childhood friend Mike Andrews to open their first restaurant, Sgt. Preston’s, in 1975. The duo would lock in on a specific brand of good times and casual approachability with their other restaurants in a slew of different flavors that resonated with diners. Of the lineup, Saji-Ya, Loon Cafe and J.D. Hoyt’s are still serving all these years later. Hoyt’s was named for White’s father, and has maintained its supper club feel for nearly 40 years.

Andrews preceded White in death in 2014. White is survived by his wife, sister and extended family. A private service will be held at a later date.