After 15 Years of Remarkable Change, Corner Table Closes At the End of This Month

Corner Table, the critically beloved and groundbreaking Minneapolis restaurant will close forever this month. The restaurant has gone through three distinct eras and brought the Twin Cities the powerhouse business coupling of chef Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone. This final iteration of the eatery will close at the end of July.

The restaurant began as a leader in the farm-to-table movement under different ownership. Boemer and Rancone took over operations in 2011. The restaurant then moved down Nicollet to its current location and expanded its fine dining aesthetic, in 2013. The move garnered stars and praise from local critics. Rick Nelson of the Star Tribune gave the eatery three and a half our of four possible stars. Fans loved the unique plays on French and local fare as well as Rancone’s penchant for finding small and interesting wines to pour alongside the food.

The duo would eventually open a fried chicken restaurant in Corner Table’s original location. Quickly becoming a sensation, two more Revivals would eventually be opened. As Boemer and Rancone focused on opening Keg & Case and their next restaurant In Bloom on Saint Paul’s West 7th, Karyn Tomlinson took the lead at Corner Table, earning praise and winning the national cooking competition Cochon 555 in the process. However, the dining room has had more empty seats in recent months and nearby highway construction hastened the owners decision to close.

Joy Summers/Eater Twin Cities

In an email Rancone said, “Corner Table has always had one constant, and that has been change.” So, the restaurant will change yet again, but what that will be remains to be unseen. “We want to make some changes that we feel will be able to connect with the neighborhood and dining community that we were just not connecting with.”

• Corner Table Shines with a new approach [STRIB]
• A Love Letter to Corner Table [CP]
• All Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone Coverage [ETC]