Classic Restaurant From Minnesota's Past Is Now Open Again

It was a classic chain restaurant that closed its last Minnesota location for good nearly 16 years ago, but a new version is now back and open for business.

When it comes to nostalgia, few things bring up as many fond memories as those once-popular restaurants that now are gone for good. To start walking down memory lane, all you have to do is think about some of those places your parents took you when you were a kid that are now long since gone.

Restaurants play a unique role in our economy and culture both here in Minnesota and across the country. The National Restaurant Association estimates that there are currently over 11,100 restaurants in the North Star State, generating over $15 billion in sales.

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So with all that competition, it's pretty cool to see that the classic Steak and Ale chain is now back open again here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Steak and Ale was a popular chain founded in 1966 that had several locations in Minnesota. While its last location in Bloomington closed in 2008 when the parent company filed for bankruptcy, this new version just opened its doors earlier this summer.

According to the Nation's Restaurant News, Dallas-based restaurant group Legendary Restaurant Brands bought the intellectual property and rights to the Steak and Ale chain (plus sister chain, Benigan's) a few years ago, CEO Paul Mangiamele said in the story.

A rendering of the new Steak And Ale in Burnsville (The Food Institute via YouTube)

The Burnsville Steak and Ale location now open is attached to the Wyndham Hotel at 14201 Nicollet Avenue, where Morgan's was previously located. Mangiamele said he and his wife, who live part of the year in Eden Prairie along with their home in Dallas, Texas, chose Minnesota as their first location because the Twin Cities is 'a great restaurant town,' he said in the story.

Mangiamele also indicated on the Facebook group Forever Steak and Ale that his company is looking to add another two or three locations in other parts of Minnesota, outside the Twin Cities metro as well, intending to have around 15 total Steak and Ale and Bennigan’s locations across the Midwest.

If you were a fan of Steak and Ale's food back when the chain was first around, you'll be happy to know that the new version is still using many of those same recipes, this Star Tribune story said. Or, at least parts of them, that is. While most have been updated to today's tastes with more spices and a different look, they still contain the same “basic DNA,” the story said.

So, a big congrats to Legendary Restaurant Brands for bringing this classic restaurant back to life! Of course, that's not the case for many other popular chains, however. Keep scrolling to check out 50 beloved retail chains that weren't so successful and are now not around anymore.