I suppose staying with the Lyndale Tap House name would have been odd in Apple Valley. So for the second location of this pit-beef-and-beer restaurant, owner Gene Suh went with the next obvious choice: The Valley Tap House.
Located in a former Major's Sports Café, the new pub will try to recreate its gastropub ambitions out in the 'burbs, but with a few changes. He plans to open in late-November or early-December.
Suh, 33, said he picked Apple Valley because the suburb is ripe for non-chain concepts (even though it looks like he might be starting his own mini-chain). His chef, Phil Dvorak, will expand the Lyndale Tap House's menu for Apple Valley, adding more entrees (like homemade pasta with lamb meatballs), plus a kids menu. The tap list will be bigger too, with 35 to 40 beers. "We're bringing in a lot of craft," Suh said. "Beers that hopefully a lot of people in Apple Valley haven't tasted yet."
While the Valley Tap House will have a nightlife component (trivia and bingo), he doesn't want it to get too crazy. There's a Wild Bill's around the corner for that. The old Major's had a dance floor and DJ booth, but Suh wants to make due with just a jukebox.
The Lyndale location caught some flack when it opened in 2009 for its slightly-suggestive décor -- scantily-clad women hanging out with beef cows (see above). Suh said the Valley Tap House will feature the same dark-wood décor, but the wall-hangings might change. He's expecting more families.
"We're going to take the photos down a notch," he said. "In the dining room, I think we're just going to keep it to pictures of cows and pastures."
Details: 14889 Florence Trail, Apple Valley. More info on Facebook.
(Photo by Joel Koyama)
