List Of Minneapolis Restaurants Closing Is Growing

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The list of well-known restauranteurs in Minneapolis who are calling it quits is growing.

Vincent A. Restaurant, a popular white table cloth restaurant announced it's closing its doors for good.  That comes soon after the announcement that La Belle Vie, the most formal restaurant in town, will also close before year's end.

Mexican restaurant Masa will close that same day after a decade.

Ben D'Amico works with the restaurant group who runs Masa.

"I think it really started to hit me this week," he said.

He says they are closing up shop there for several reasons. A two-year construction project on Nicollet Mall is one of them, their 10-year lease is up and there's more.

"We've also had layoffs, lots of layoffs in the companies downtown, we're also going to lose the Holidazzle parade," D'Amico said.

And Chef Vincent across the street says he's closing too after 14 years, calling it a personal decision.

Food Writer Stephanie March says each of the restaurants will close with respected names.

"I don't think you can call it a fail, I think you can call it a heartbreak more than anything," March said.

Only about 40 percent of restaurants make it three years, so these restaurants have certainly beat the odds.

"I think 10 years as a restaurant is a hallmark, I mean that's an amazing thing to go 10 years," March said.

She says eaters are veering away from fine dining and toward chef-created casual foods, March said.

"People start to eat more burgers, and they eat more tacos and they eat more ramen," she said.

It seems an industry that brands the cities is taking a new course.

March says we can likely expect more closings by year end.

Some good news from Masa -- they are finding other jobs for their employees and several of them will be moving to the Ft. Meyers restaurant.