Since July, at least five well-known spaces between Lake and Hennepin and Lyn-Lake have reopened with new tenants. Most of the new businesses are expansions rather than debuts. They include a Chicago fried chicken chain, a Yemeni coffee house from Dearborn, a pizza shop on its seventh location, a New Hope taqueria on its second, and a birria shop that started at Mall of America. The buildings are familiar, but the operators behind them came here already established, and the two latest-closing kitchens in the neighborhood are among them.
The old names and the new ones
| Space residents remember | New tenant | Where it started | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa Pizza, 1440 W. Lake St. | OG ZaZa | Rosedale Center food hall | Sept. 7 |
| Iron Door Pub, 3001 Lyndale Ave. S. | Haraz Coffee House | Dearborn, Michigan | July |
| Arts & Rec and Libertine, Lake and Hennepin | Arizona Taco Co. | New Hope | July |
| Daisy's and Cowboy Slim's, 1430 Lagoon Ave. | Harold's Chicken | Chicago, with a Brooklyn Center location | Late summer |
| Pinoli, then Matriarch, 1601 W. Lake St. | Tom's Thai | No earlier location reported | By Sept. 1 |
Mesa's old counter now sells whole pies until 3 a.m.
For years, Mesa Pizza was the New York-style slice shop on Lake Street. It closed in late 2025, and OG ZaZa moved into the space this fall. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported in August that the new shop "only sells whole, made-to-order pizzas," with online ordering for quick pickup.
The hours are the bigger story. OG ZaZa's own site lists 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. No other new Uptown kitchen in this year's coverage posts weekend hours that late.
OG ZaZa didn't open here on a hunch. Chef Josh Hedquist started it as a New Haven-style stand inside Rosedale Center's food hall. Pies like his pickle pizza built a following, and he has since opened at Mall of America and on St. Paul's Grand Avenue. According to the Star Tribune, the Lake Street shop brings the count to seven. So Uptown is getting a brand that had already worked six times before it signed a lease on Lake Street.
The Iron Door corner now pours coffee after midnight
Three blocks east, at Lyndale and Lake, the change is bigger. The former Iron Door Pub is now Haraz Coffee House, the first Minnesota location of a Yemeni coffee company founded in Dearborn in 2021. The Star Tribune's July report says Haraz runs more than 30 locations around Detroit and in more than 20 other U.S. cities. The Minneapolis location belongs to local franchisee Hue Alobaidi.
The launch press release, as quoted by the Star Tribune, describes a 190-seat room "designed as a long-stay 'third place' to work, study or gather, with extended hours (open past midnight Fridays and Saturdays)." The menu covers coffee, espresso, matcha, tea, smoothies and pastries.
The busiest corner at Lyn-Lake now has a large late-night room built around coffee. Haraz is also expanding beyond this corner, with a second Minnesota location planned for Eden Prairie in late fall.
The biggest rooms went to operators who already know how to fill them
Uptown's largest former bar rooms were built for crowds. The two biggest went to businesses that already run more than one location.
Harold's Chicken now occupies the former Daisy's and Cowboy Slim's space at 1430 Lagoon Ave. The Star Tribune's October restaurant roll call describes it as a large restaurant and sports bar and says it is the largest Harold's Chicken in the country. It's the Chicago chain's second Minnesota location, after Brooklyn Center, and it serves made-to-order fried chicken buckets with its signature sauce.
At the corner of Lake and Hennepin, Arizona Taco Co. opened its second location in July. It took over the Arts & Rec space, which closed in 2023 and was the Libertine before that. Racket's September roundup points readers to the company's Facebook page for upcoming salsa and dance nights. That makes it the one new tenant planning programming that a former bar room is well suited for.
At 1601 W. Lake St., Tom's Thai has taken a space that has turned over often. Kim Bartmann's Pinoli was there first, then Matriarch, which Racket says lasted "very, very briefly." Racket notes it opened as Tom's Thai rather than under the Tom's Tiki Thai name, and it is the one new tenant on this list without a reported earlier location. Racket lists a traditional menu of soups, curries, fried rice, pad thai and Thai iced tea, plus cheese curds. Its ordering page shows a noon opening but no posted closing time.
The homegrown names that left
This year's departures add up to more than the arrivals do.
French Meadow Bakery & Cafe and Bluestem Bar at 2610 Lyndale Ave. S. closed on Sept. 14. The Star Tribune's closure story notes the cafe opened in 1985 and was an early leader in organic baking, known for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free food made with local ingredients. Minneapolis lost a 41-year neighborhood fixture. The St. Paul location in Mac-Groveland stays open.
A block south, Tender Lovin' Chix closed its storefront at 2700 Lyndale Ave. S. and went back to running a food truck. Racket reported on Sept. 1 that the business plans to move to the North Loop, though no address had been announced.
On Hennepin, Red Cow at 2626 Hennepin Ave. closed June 1. In May, owner Luke Shimp told Mpls.St.Paul Magazine that lease costs were the main reason. He said construction had cut sales by 60 to 70 percent, and that after the street reopened, sales were still about half of what they had been.
Getting there after dark this fall
Getting around is easier than it has been in years. The City of Minneapolis project page says major reconstruction on Hennepin Avenue South is substantially complete. The street is open to two-way traffic, and the bike lanes and sidewalks are open. Metro Transit's E Line started running on Hennepin on Dec. 6, 2025, between the University of Minnesota and Edina. According to Metro Transit, buses come as often as every 10 minutes, and trips are on average up to 20 percent faster than on Route 6.
For a late Friday, here's where things stand:
- OG ZaZa, 1440 W. Lake St.: open until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday, whole pies only, with online ordering for pickup.
- Haraz Coffee House, 3001 Lyndale Ave. S.: open past midnight Friday and Saturday, with 190 seats.
- Bussin Birria Tacos, 3100 Excelsior Blvd.: the quesabirria shop opened July 1 as its first standalone restaurant. Its own site lists 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. An earlier Racket report gave a 2 a.m. weekend close, so check the site before heading over late.
Daytime plans near Lyn-Lake fill out the month. The Lyndale Neighborhood Association holds its Harvest Bash and board elections at Painter Park, 620 W. 34th St., on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Its Boo'tiful Lyndale Halloween Walk starts from the same park on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m.
More change is coming. Ground broke in June on the Seven Points redevelopment. Southwest Voices reports it will include 228 homes, 46 of them affordable, with completion targeted for fall 2027.
If you've been following which Uptown corners have filled up and which are still empty, we watch the same blocks from the Coldwell Banker Minneapolis Lakes office. David K Wells III Real Estate is glad to talk through what's changing on your street. Contact David & Wren to discuss your next move.
