Tyge Nelson and Stephan Hesse Opening a Mexican Restaurant on West 7th

Even more chefs who have made their bones in Minneapolis are moving into the St. Paul market. It was announced today that Stephan Hesse and Tyge Nelson are taking over the one-time Glockenspiel address on West 7th to open a neighborhood-y Mexican eatery that will be called Pajarito.

Both chefs have impressive careers. Nelson worked at Barrio and briefly ran the kitchen at The Inn in downtown Minneapolis, where he won rave reviews for a criminally short stint, before starting a long stint as executive chef at Chino Latino. Stephan Hesse began his career at the St. Paul Hotel, more recently he opened Masu Sushi before moving on to open and run Uptown's Libertine. Now, joining their wonder-twin powers of latin American influences (Nelson) and rare meat cuts (Hesse) will bring us one super tasty venture in an up-and-coming part of the city.

Now, this isn't just a taco shop, although they will have handmade tortillas topped with inspired ingredients. This will be a slightly more upscale, affordable cuisine like aquachiles - a ceviche-like dish, whole-roasted snapper, fresh salads and entirely made-in-house salsas. Prices are expected to come in around $15-25 range.

The restaurant also comes with a full liquor license and Kara Smith of Libertine and Cafe Maude will be leading the cocktails.

The room, for those that remember, isn't all that large. There will be about 130 seats and it could open as soon as October if construction goes smoothly.

• St. Paul's Glockenspiel Space to Become Mexican Restaurant [PiPress]
• Coming Soon: Pajarito [MSPMag]
• Late and Lamented: The Inn [EMPLS]