St. Paul's Merriam Park is fast becoming a hot neighborhood for restaurants to open. Heirloom has the formal, locavore dinner thing covered. Black Coffee and Waffle Bar has black coffee and waffles, but what the neighborhood didn't have and needed, is a casual place where you can pop in for a comfortable dinner with friends with great food and even better cocktails. Max Thompson saw this need and knew that his restaurant, 128 Cafe, could fill the gap. But first, the chef took advantage of an extended summer road construction project out front and closed to remodel the room. During that remodel, he could feel the restaurant transforming. The room lightened up, more parking outside was added and then there was the bar. The addition of a full liquor license allowed for an entirely new aspect of service to be added to the restaurant. It only made sense that with all the changes, a new name was a part of the next chapter for this eatery.
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Inside Merriam Park's New Favorite Neighborhood Hang
Stewart's is casual, comfortable and wait until you see that bar.
by
Joy Summers@JoyEstelle
Photography by Katie Cannon
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- There are still a few patio days left in the season.
- Jesse James Ostendorf's playground.
- It's a seamless blending of historic details with modern touches.
- Wine at the ready.
- For now, it's only open for dinner, but brunch and lunch are coming soon.
- There's a front dining room with the bar and a more intimate back room with more seats.
- Plenty of comfy seats.
- We're obsessed with these light fixtures.
- Perfect date night seating.