Rincon 38, a new tapas bar, is taking over a space at the corner of 38th Street and Grand Avenue South in Minneapolis, which has been vacant for a couple of years.
Previously, the storefront space housed the Fairy Godmother gift shop.
The restaurant’s chef, Hector Ruiz, who also helped start
Café Ena and the former El Meson, is going for a small European-style bistro, much like those where he used to spend time. “When I lived in Paris, I liked to dine out,” usually at small bistros that were “really cozy,” he says, adding, “Most times they just looked like a hallway, with a small bar.”
It’s eateries like this that “help Iberians bridge the long gap between the traditional 3 p.m. lunch and 10 p.m. dinner times,” a
Southwest Patch story reads.
To recreate that feeling, the restaurant will serve Spanish-inspired cuisine in the form of tapas, or small plates, with French and Italian items in the mix, he says.
The place will also serve wine and beer, with an emphasis on local offerings.
To accommodate the restaurant, the space had to be built out, with a new bar and kitchen and walk-in coolers. It was a gradual process that has unfolded over the past year. “I had to start building slowly,” Ruiz says.
Inside, the place has a modern aesthetic, with bright colors, wood floors, mosaic and tile counters, and a decorative metal wine shelf, he says. Nine butcher-block-style tables along with a 12-seat bar, for 32 seats altogether, fill the dining room. In the warmer months, the restaurant will also have patio seating for 20, he adds.
The neighborhood has been supportive of the business, which he hopes to open in early 2013. “A lot of people are excited for the restaurant to open,” Ruiz says.
Source: Hector Ruiz, Rincon 38
Writer: Anna Pratt