The historic
Minneapolis Club’s restaurant, which hasn’t changed since 1974, will soon get a facelift.
As a part of the $900,000 project, the club, which has long been a gathering place for city leaders and businesspeople, is adding a new bar and patio, while the first-floor grill’s hours will expand to include dinner.
This part of the building hasn’t seen any renovations since 1974, according to the club’s general manager, Frank DiLapo. “Everyone loved it and they were reluctant to do anything in there,” he says.
However, it finally got to the point where it was tired enough that “We needed to do something to spruce it up" and give it a contemporary atmosphere. The changes will help make it a better gathering place, says DiLapo. “We looked at the clubhouse and the ways members want to use it now,” he says. “The hallmark of a great club is that it transitions for its members.”
Although the place will be updated, it’ll still have an old-fashioned look. Design-wise, the club looked to a London hotel called
The Connaught. “It resembles the clubhouse in a lot of ways, with dark wood in the lobby area,” DiLapo says.
In the 110-seat restaurant, the club preserved the woodwork without painting over it. To inject some color into the space, colorful furniture and white tablecloths were brought in. “The whole room is a brighter, lighter spot,” he says.
The 40-seat bar will be something of a throwback to what the space looked like in the past, with familiar yet refurbished chairs. A mural referencing the skyline will grace the walls.
An area alongside the building, which had been a lawn, has been turned into a 50-seat patio. The patio, which will have its grand opening today, is going for a modernized speakeasy feel with stone, black wrought-iron furniture, and a white-flower garden.
Altogether, “Now we’ll have this whole little dining complex,” DiLapo says.
The restaurant and bar changes will wrap up in September. “Some of the most important decisions about the city have been made here at the club, he says, adding, “We want to make sure we’re around for another 130 years.”
Source: Frank DiLapo, general manager, Minneapolis Club
Writer: Anna Pratt