New dining destinations are opening left and right in Minnesota. According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, the Twin Cities alone gained more than 160 restaurants last year. But while checking off places on the foodie bucket list is often a fun after-sessions activity for attendees, restaurants also prove to be more than just locales for social jaunts: They are contenders for corporate and nonprofit event venues, too. Thanks to the possibility of full buyouts and the availability of private dining spaces, there are many restaurants that host corporate dinners, happy hours, and networking receptions, providing a welcome diversion from the offerings of traditional catering companies, some of which attendees might have encountered dozens of times before. As a bonus, booking new restaurants as venues highlights your hipness to the North Star State’s evolving restaurant scene.
One of the most anticipated Twin Cities restaurant openings of last year was Diane’s Place in Northeast Minneapolis, perfect for planners requiring space for larger groups. At the helm is Diane Moua, well known for her tenure as executive pastry chef at Gavin Kaysen-owned establishments Spoon and Stable, Bellecour, and Demi. But Diane’s Place offers more than just pastries—it spans brunch, dinner, and cocktails—drawing upon ingredients and recipes inspired by Moua’s Hmong heritage. Groups of up to 150 seated and 200 standing can enjoy dishes from the events menu at Events by Diane’s, the eatery’s adjoining 2,000-square-foot private event venue. Its Commons Room is the largest space for groups, while smaller crews can book the Tasting Room or the adjacent courtyard.
The icing on the cake at Diane’s Place is the stellar service, a common source of praise from planners. “Truly, I feel like I haven’t had service like that since probably the ’70s, where you got really good customer service and people focused on lovely hospitality, being gracious, and wanting to accommodate you,” says Julie Fedje-Johnston, who hosted a private event at Diane’s Place last December. “It was really a treat to have that attentiveness, that willingness to do what we wanted.”
Mao Xiong, event sales and coordination manager at Diane’s Place, says corporate and nonprofit groups often return again and again, capitalizing on the built-in audiovisual system, projectors, and screens. Xiong says, “I feel like what happens a lot of times with our partners is once they’ve done it here, they always come back. This becomes their place.”
Perched on the other half of the Twin Cities is Russell’s Saint Paul, a new restaurant in the former Tavern on Grand space on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue. Owner Todd Russell grew up on Grand Avenue, and wanted to bring a restaurant to the neighborhood that reflected the community in a modern way—creating a space that is elevated, yet relaxed and comfortable. “When you walk in, you sense the style and level of sophistication, but you don’t feel hurried. You don’t feel perhaps underdressed or out of place,” says Russell. Smaller groups can find a temporary home in the Holiday Room at Russell’s for dinners and cocktail parties, suitable for groups of 26 seated or 45 standing.
The big cities are not the only places to find new restaurants for groups. Located in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina is Starling, a fine-dining restaurant from Minneapolis-based Jester Concepts that opened in April last year. Its semiprivate dining space is aptly named The Solarium, as it is filled with windows, natural light, and greenery. Sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant with a curtain instead of a wall, The Solarium preserves the eatery’s lively ambience and is ideal for social business gatherings for up to 40 people. Planners also can buy out Starling in its entirety to host 100 people for a reception-style event. Jester Concepts also opened a new location of the ever-popular Parlour in Excelsior, where planners can rent the whole space for 50 attendees, who are sure to devour plenty of the bar’s famous burgers.
In Rochester, you will find 1928 Cocktails and Bites, which opened in February of last year. The owner, Sammi Loo, opened the Chinese-inspired cocktail lounge because she wanted a place for private events after opening Korean restaurant Bebap downstairs just a few months earlier. Her 1928 Cocktails and Bites is only open to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings, but corporate and nonprofit planners can host cocktail hours, private meals, and parties there Monday through Thursday. The space’s dim, red lighting and other design elements make attendees feel like they are enjoying a night out on the town in Shanghai—all while enjoying popular bites like Taiwanese popcorn chicken and cheese curd wontons.
Loo often books musicians on nights the lounge is open to the public, and offers it as an add-on for planners to add a little more festivity to gatherings. “It’s all about having fun,” says Loo.
