August heat brings sizzle with friendly faces, hotel hot spots and cool cocktails

MAX ON OVER TO FOURTH STREET…Whoooeee it was hot our there—inside and out—last month as I hiked from corner to corner to tour some of the newest spots in town. Who knew summer in downtown Minneapolis would become so great for hotel hopping? We’ve all seen a resurgence in lobby level enticements and cozy settings in hotel bars around town in the past few years, like the Marquette’s MARQ VII lobby bar, the Radisson lobby’s adjoining FireLake Dining Room & Bar, the Chamber’s Hotel Bar and street level courtyard and the new Ivy Hotel’s Porter & Frye.

Travelers, beware. Now that locals are finding hotels are hot again, their lobby bars and restaurants are almost irresistible. Last month two more hot spots joined the throng. Down on the corner of Fourth Street and Second Avenue, just two blocks from the one-year old Westin Minneapolis Hotel in the old F&M Bank, another bank of yesteryear—the Midland—has been transformed into the Hotel Minneapolis, with a sexy corner restaurant operation named Max, thanks to the Morrissey Hospitality (MHC) folks. Cheers! They are the St. Paul-based development and management team founded in 1995 with the St. Paul Hotel and headed up by idea man Bill Morrissey. They also operate the St. Paul Grill, Pazzaluna and Tria restaurants as well as other properties like the new Key Lime Cove Water Resort created outside Chicago by Famous Dave Anderson.

Bill has a great team—which I see now has added a second generation Morrissey with son Arthur on board. I also was happy to find one of my favorite old familiar faces, Mike Brunkow on the management scene with this new Doubletree Hotel (a division of the Hilton family). Brunkow, who is the new VP of hotels at Morrissey under their growing lodging division, has a great hotel track record himself. I first knew him years ago as GM at both the Radisson in St.Paul and the Radisson South in Bloomington during one of its major renovations. With more than 30 years of hotel experience at 15 locations, he was once named General Manger of the Year from among more than 300 Radisson hotels.

And now history repeats itself as he helped work his magic on the new Hotel Minneapolis. He gave me a walk through before the opening and shared news on some of the plans and the team for the hotel and the snappy Max restaurant. Both the magnificent marble bank lobby and Max boast high ceilings and huge marble pillars, which made me feel like I was in Athens. These striking pillars became the perfect site for their mod, wrap-around red lighting panels, which give a warm glow to the space and look like giant butterfly wings overhead. It was also fun to learn the GM for the hotel would be another old friend, with Brian Schmechel at the helm. His smiling face will be familiar to dowtowners too, since he previously headed up sales and marketing along with business development over at the Marquette Hotel, (also a Hilton). On the Max team you’ll find some great hospitality—GM Lorin Zinter, who was the GM at La Belle Vie for the past three years, and Three Fish and Campiello and Bar Lurcat before that. With collaborative efforts from MHC, chefs like Rino Baglio of Pazzaluna have worked with Max Executive Chef Matthew Holmes to create a unique, tempting menu they call “lifestyle cuisine” with fresh seasonal and regional offerings. A Minnesota native who grew up in Michigan, Holmes attended the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and got a chance on the popular Iron Chef TV show during his time in Arizona. He has spent the last seven years as executive sous chef at T.Cooks at the Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix. The menu really looks tempting, too. More later after some dining outings.


“W” IS TOWERING SALUTE to FOSHAY…Another hot corner is the 1929 Foshay Tower at Ninth and Marquette—another example of a spectacular remake that enhances our downtown history to the limit. Thank you Ralph Burnet (owner) for developing the mighty 32-story Foshay, transforming it into a W (the Starwood/Westin family) and giving it a new life. I also like the bright green neon Manny’s sign on the each side of the corner, which leads you into the re-located Manny’s Steakhouse. It harmonizes with the shiny, enamel “green door” owner Phil Roberts placed inside between the W lobby and the restaurant. Leave it to Phil to give me a little smirk when asked if that legendary color might also be a suggestive reference to the promises of pleasure when you pass through the door, a la the 1972 classic porn film, “Behind The Green Door” that made Marilyn Chambers famous. He nodded in agreement. Too funny. Now I’m eager to see if Roberts will add any sexy martini names to his menu.

Edgy design and sexy innuendo are signature styles with W Hotels, and since Roberts and Burnet are both creative talents and mavericks in their fields, this new match is no doubt a perfect fit. In addition to operating Manny’s, Roberts’ company, Parasole, will take on the hotel food and beverage operations, too—a first for them. And since W is also legendary for their “mod” thinking, I was pleased to find the GM at W is a woman. Bravo! I had the opportunity to meet 20 year veteran and hotel GM Susan Mabry last month for a preview of the stunning new space and a briefing on the very special glossary of new “W” words used by the W team. Mabry is a transplant from the East Coat area, where she was most recently GM of the Sheraton Society Hills in Philadelphia. A fan of the art deco style and student of photography and business at the University of Boston and Yale, she’s thrilled to be here at this historic property. We sat down in the nearly finished lobby lounge they call the Living Room at the W and talked about the renovation and new interiors that surrounded us. As guests enter the new hotel off Ninth Street, they will pass by this large and luxurious and plush living room—a space “to meet, greet, sip, and savor,” Mabry explained. And with more W jargon—you’ll be greeted by their “door ambassador” and “welcome ambassador” (the bellman) as you head to the “lift.” They also use the English term for restrooms, WC—water closet. “Wheels” equals valet parking service and “talent” is what they call their employees.

“Happy” is what I’d call their customers. We peeked into the big bar being set up in the living room and took a lift to the 27th floor to see the new Prohibition Bar, a very cozy, paneled walk-around bar that was originally designed as Wilbur Foshay’s office. So much to see, so little time. I made it back for a quick opening cocktail a week later and saw all the finishing touches of glitz and glam in action—the place was jumping. Oh, and last word on the “W” word list? It’s just three letters, but it’s an important one—“wow.” To them it means the ultimate experience.


BACK AT THE B.A.N.K…Cheers to a first birthday for B.A.N.K. this summer at the historic F&M Bank, now The Westin Minneapolis, on Sixth and Marquette. They’re the old kid on the block nowadays. Fun to see this site bustling all day with their 200-seat restaurant in the huge old bank lobby. Their huge oval Gold Bar has been a favorite with the cocktail crowd. Fun to see another friendly face on the scene at a recent lunch meeting, like pastry chef Liz Matheson, who helped opened B.A.N.K. last year and is known for her famous dozen dessert shot glass sampler. It’s always easy to see her prepping some glamorous desserts in their fun open kitchen and counter seating—the bank’s former teller counter.

Liz also introduced me to the new Executive Chef Dagan Lynn. He’s a grad of the Western Culinary Institute in Portland who has had the good fortune to work with two of the best chefs in the country—Alain Ducasse in New York at ADNY in the Essex House and then worked with the opening of Mix. Lynn also helped open Per Se in New York with Thomas Keller. Stop by and say hello. Last month he was even sharing his brined pork chop recipe. Good news, eh?