St. Paul’s Sit-Down Stunner In Bloom Is Done After Just Two Years

In Bloom, the two-year-old anchor restaurant at Schmidt Brewery’s Keg and Case market, is the latest St. Paul restaurant to fall victim to the coronavirus crisis.

Partners Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone just announced the sudden demise of their wood-fired gem on West 7th.

“As the decline in fine dining continues in the restaurant industry as a whole, our vision for In Bloom has run its course,” according to a joint statement emailed to Eater on Monday.

Named after Boemer’s super-seasonal menu, In Bloom prepared everything over fire with the restaurant’s centerpiece 20-foot hearth. The partners’ first fine dining venture Corner Table, which closed in south Minneapolis last year, played up unique ingredients from small farms.

The duo will maintain a presence at Keg and Case with their existing Carolina barbecue-driven stall, Revival Smoked Meats. The popular Revival brand also includes a pair of eateries in St. Paul and Minneapolis serving Tennessee hot fried chicken.

In Bloom picked up plenty of accolades during its short lifespan, including several James Beard Award nominations and designations as Eater Twin Cities’ Design of the Year and Star Tribune’s 2019 Restaurant of the Year. The elegant-meets-industrial design featured floral-shaped lights made by an Italian artist, a large mural by Minnesota native Eric Inkila, and a laser cut white screen reminiscent of 1930s-era Morocco.

Keg and Case’s adjoining food hall, which reopened last month with new outdoor seating configurations, is filled with local vendors serving beer, coffee, ice cream, confections, and meats.

• The Keg and Case Anchor Restaurant Has a Name: In Bloom [ETC]
• Understanding the Jazzy Stylings of In Bloom’s Award-Winning Design [ETC]