Solera closes in Minneapolis

Individuals pursuing culinary certificates in the Twin Cities area have one less prominent restaurant to look up to today as Solera, a popular tapas establishment, has closed its doors for the last time. For more than a decade, the restaurant has been a fixture in its downtown Minneapolis theater district location on Hennepin Avenue, and it will certainly be missed by residents of the Minnesotan city.

The restaurant
First and foremost, it’s imperative, in order to understand the cultural significance of Solera closing, to become aware of how impressive an establishment it was. While the menu focused predominantly on small tapas plates and wine tastings, the venue itself was huge. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the space could hold roughly 220 guests and also contained a rooftop bar and multiple floors of event space. Tim McKee and Josh Thoma, who had already burst onto the Minnesota culinary scene as owners of La Belle Vie, started the restaurant together in 2003, and it enjoyed an inspired run of success until closing on Jan. 5, 2015.

Staff departures
While the eatery has only recently closed, McKee and Thoma actually sold it in 2010 to the Hennepin Avenue Opportunity Fund. The fund, in collaboration with Graves Hospitality, ran the establishment until it closed, according to the Minneapolis Business Journal. Shortly before the restaurant would close permanently, Jorge Guzman, who had served as the head chef, left to take a position with Surly, a popular local brewing company.

Planning fiasco for brides to be
According to Fox Twin Cities, the restaurant’s closing came before a number of scheduled weddings and receptions could run their course at the popular Mexican restaurant. Staff from the now-closed restaurant are said to be helping these couples as best they can, but one can only imagine how stressful that process must be. While the restaurant simply hasn’t been able to bounce back from staff departures, the owners of the space are said to be looking for a new venture to fill it. In the interim, however, numerous soon-to-be-married couples have found themselves scrambling to locate a new venue before their big day arrives.

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