Investments Blog

Northeast Minneapolis restaurant Masu Sushi and Robata is expanding, taking over the space of an Italian restaurant next door.

The new space — a 1,500-square-foot area that formerly housed the recently closed Geno’s, will be used for private events. It's undergoing a renovation that is expected to be done by the end of summer.

Design work is being done in-house, but is based on the original restaurant design by Shea Design, said Greg Mueller, corporate manager for Masu restaurants.

Geno's,…

At 8 a.m., Jackson Fu awakens. Here is a timeline of a typical day for the restaurateur.

The Block, located at 33 N. Sarah St., confirmed on its Facebook page that the restaurant has closed its doors.

“We want to thank everyone for all of the incredible support we have had over the last 5 ½ years and look forward to seeing everyone at The Block Restaurant and Butcher Shop in Webster Groves and our new location (details coming soon!),” the Facebook post said.

The restaurant is co-owned by Marc Del Pietro and Brian Doherty. They also opened the flagship location at 146 W. Lockwood…

Calling New York an “idiosyncratic outlier,” a leader of the Philadelphia-based soda company said its best to have a separate strategy for that market from its plans for expansion across the entire East Coast.

Cilantro, a popular Uptown Vietnamese bistro, is reopening under its original owner after the restaurant was sold, reconcepted and closed earlier this year.

Cilantro Vietnamese Bistro at 235 W. McMillan St. was opened by Darren Phan in 2004. He plans to reopen it by the end of July, but a grand opening date has not yet been set.

Phan told me he sold the restaurant in April 2017 because he wanted to spend more time with his wife and growing family – he has two small children and would often…

One of the city's most beloved off-the-beaten-path beer bars went against Philadelphia's “scratch and dent mentality” as part of a Philadelphia Energy Authority-backed pilot program that aims to save thousands of dollars annually for small businesses. But few other city businesses are set to reap similar long-term financial gains – leading the independent municipal authority to rethink how it runs the pilot program as it launches a second iteration.

The Grey Lodge Pub, in the Mayfair section…

Chain restaurants are doing a better job at pleasing customers.

Customer satisfaction with full-service restaurants rose 3.8 percent from last year to a score of 81, while satisfaction with limited-service eateries was up 1.3 percent to a score of 80, according to the annual report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Full-service restaurants, with the exception of last year, have always outscored fast food, coffee/cafe and pizza joints, which are lumped together as limited service.

Texas…

Florida is home to some of the best beach towns in the country, says a new WalletHub study.

The Sunshine State had five cities, Naples (No. 2); Sarasota (No. 3); St. Augustine (No. 5); Boca Raton (No. 7); and Key West (No. 10), among the Top 10 seaside municipalities with a population of over 10,000 residents listed on TripAdvisor.

The financial website considered affordability, weather, safety, the economy, education and health, and quality of life to compare 161 cities and arrive at its rankings.…