Announcing the Temporary Closure of Restaurant Alma and the Opening of Café, Hotel and Restaurant Alma

Via an August 2 e-newsletter from Restaurant Alma:

ALMA “2.0”: Restaurant, Café and Hotel

In 2013, fourteen years after the opening Restaurant Alma, the wonderful opportunity came along to purchase our building, and together as a team we began the journey of expanding the Alma experience to include an all-day cafe and boutique hotel. We also planned some much needed renovations to the original restaurant space. The process has taken longer than we expected, presenting many challenges and great learning experiences along the way. Most importantly, our work with the Minneapolis City Council, Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association, and many supportive neighbors, ultimately resulted in changes to the city lodging ordinance: allowing the operation of small hotels in Minneapolis (for the first time in nearly 100 years), and breathing life into our new concept.

The Temporary Closing of Restaurant Alma

Alma “1.0“ will serve the last dishes from our Summer Menu on Friday, August 12th. Unavoidably, we must close for three months to connect the restaurant and cafe kitchens and to make significant mechanical and equipment upgrades. At the same time, the dining room will be undergoing renovations to improve the comfort of the guest experience, while also preserving the feel and layout of the original space. To reserve a table before August 12th please reserve via our website or call the restaurant after 2pm at 612-379-4909.
 
Perhaps the most important goal for us in the next seventeen years is to keep Alma very much the same. Since our first day of business we have believed in the saying, “a kitchen is only as good as the last meal it served,” knowing it applies equally to customer service. We believe our continued success is dependent on maintaining this humble—yet imperative—standard. One thing is for sure: the magic of excellent food and exceptional hospitality is never something we can turn into a simple recipe or set of instructions. We will continue our pursuit of excellence until the last plate is served at Alma 1.0, during our closure and preparations, and into the future with the arrival of Alma “2.0” this fall.

Our projected reopening date is the week of November 7th, 2016, landing almost seventeen years from our opening day in 1999. To share our progress and more about our expansion, we would like to invite you to read a weekly blog on our website, where we will chronicle construction progress, special events, design, menu development, hiring, and profiles of our dedicated team while we prepare for our first day as a restaurant, cafe and hotel.

Booking Hotel Alma

We are launching our online hotel-booking site to the public on Saturday, October 1st. To honor you, our longtime guests, we will be offering room reservations for mid-November stays, by invitation only. Expect another email from us in late September with a promotional code to book.