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The internationally known chef who shocked the world by moving to Minneapolis (of all places) and opening a restaurant named after a horse’s house isn’t done with his surprises yet. The next move from Gavin Kaysen, chef and owner of Spoon and Stable will be to open a second restaurant in Minnesota. The next location has him heading out to the western suburbs and into the former Blue Point restaurant at 739 Lake Street East in Wayzata.
Kaysen says that when one of his investor’s mentioned the space, he was reluctant to view it. “I just wasn’t ready,” he says now. “It basically closed last year, but when I did walk through it, I could just see that there were 30 years of memories made here.”
French fare reaches back to Kaysen’s early training as a young chef and he’s already thinking of all the possibilities that could come with this new location. There’s room for what could be a walk up window for the boaters and strollers down main street. Lunch and brunch services might be part of the evolution, and there’s a wood burning oven that was bricked over after a past restaurant incarnation that Kaysen speaks about with audible excitement. What he knows now, is that this will be a French brasserie and bakery.
“At the restaurant we talk about this all the time, what is crave-able? If we’re going to do a roast chicken it has to be the best roast chicken. Like when you go to Revival, you have to get fried chicken. That’s the thing.” So, that means a menu that will include an incredible cassoulet in the winter and trout almondine in the summer. What they will not be doing, is bringing back old dishes from the former restaurant occupants.
The restaurant is backed by the same players that own Spoon and Stable and he will again work with Shea, Inc. for design. Until that process gets underway, Kaysen can’t say how many seats the restaurant will hold, but there will be more in the summer with an outdoor back patio space. The room will be comfortable enough to roll in off the boat and have an easy dinner, but formal enough for date night.
Before we grab the keys and head out to the shores of Lake Minnetonka, know that this is going to take some time. The building needs some structural attention. “There is a lot of work that needs to be done,” Kaysen said. “The floor boards are so warped, you can trip over them.” The earliest open date would be the early part of 2017. As for the name? “After the Merchant/Spoon and Stable debacle, I think I’m going to give that a little more time.”
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