Kale Thome and Travail Collective are proud to announce the grand opening of Minnesota Barbecue Company. Located at 816 Lowry Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis, the take-out craft barbecue restaurant is a collaboration between Thome, longtime executive chef at Travail, and Travail co-founders Mike Brown, James Winberg and Bob Gerken.
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“I grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where barbecue is a way of life,” says Thome. “At this point in my career, I’m excited to go back to my roots and use the abundance of wonderful local products to bring my own brand of Minnesota craft barbecue to the neighborhood.”
Located between Quincy and Jackson Streets, the former abandoned 800-sq.-ft. building has been transformed into a modern barbecue joint with a custom smoker designed by the chefs and built by Sam Linhoff, a local artisan metalsmith who crafts lighting and other design elements for Travail and Pig Ate My Pizza. Joy Martin, AIA, of Minneapolis-based Joy Architecture collaborated with the chefs on the design of the space. In between opening Travail’s Minneapolis Residency and overseeing the design and construction of the new Travail and Pig Ate My Pizza on Broadway Avenue in the heart of Robbinsdale, the chefs did triple-duty as general contractors, carpenters, tile-setters and drywall installers.
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Thome’s debut menu features St. Louis pork ribs, smoked to perfection until the meat falls off the bone, tender brisket and chicken served up with sweet-and-savory sauce alongside dirty rice and beans, creamed sweet potatoes, cheesy noodles, apple fennel slaw, and cucumber salad. The menu will also evolve to include other modern riffs on timeless barbecue favorites including pulled pork, smoked duck and house-made apple bacon sausage, as well as long-simmered baked beans, homemade potato salad, leafy green salad, fresh-baked onion buns and other specialties.
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Minnesota Barbecue Company is open for dinner from Wednesday through Sunday. For hours and other information, visit minnesotabbqco.com
