Restaurants Posts

Ichiro Sushi & Ramen wows guests on Miller Hill

plates of food line shelves of a black robot server with cat ears

Bella, the robot server at Ichiro Sushi & Ramen, glides through the Duluth restaurant. (Photos by Melinda Lavine)

A cat-eared robot buzzed around Ichiro Sushi & Ramen. “Bella” sported white digital whiskers up top, and in its fur-less belly sat plates of fried rice and sushi.

After a series of silent maneuvers, Bella stopped at a table of two, where Cody Tesser served fellow humans their orders from the robot’s racks.

Duluth lands new food truck with Bowlz n’ Thangz

Rachel Nielsen of Duluth gets served a mac bowl and Southwest eggrolls from Bowlz n’ Thangz food truck owner Sarah Hovis. (Photos by Melinda Lavine)

Bowlz n’ Thangz’s black food truck sat outside Wild State Cider in the Lincoln Park Craft District. Every seat in the cidery’s patio and tap room were filled with trivia players and spectators, sipping and snacking.

Wisconsin dairy set to open specialty cheese shop at RiverWest

New Duluth store manager Jessy Peterson, left, and Vice President of Retail Operations Jamie Swan stand in front of the cheese cases at the Burnett Dairy Cooperative store in Alpha, Wisconsin. The new Duluth store will feature a similar layout. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

Duluth cheese lovers will have an extraordinary place to shop for their provolone, cheddar and curds next month when an award-winning Wisconsin dairy opens a large specialty store in a newly developed section of the Riverside neighborhood below Spirit Mountain.

A & Dubs won’t open in summer 2024

A & Dubs owners Syl and Sandy Hantz posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page that they will not reopen their drive-in Lincoln Park burger joint this summer. It was founded as an A & W in 1948 and parted with the chain to become A & Dubs in 1973.

Ritual Salad planning mid-March opening

Cori Zastera, left, and her husband Jason, stand in front of the Ritual Salad location at 1802 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park last summer before a remodel of the building began. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske).

New Lincoln Park restaurant Ritual Salad is slated to open to the public March 17. It will serve salads and soups, and feature a gift shop with crystals, books, jewelry and more.

Falastin will take over former New London Café

Fox 21 reports a Palestinian café and market will replace the New London Café at 4721 E. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood.

Lyla Abukhodair and her mother Ann have operated a Palentinian pop-up restaurant called Falastin for more than a year. They plan to open their brick-and-mortar location later this year.

Trifecta of restaurants opened in Duluth’s Lincoln Park in 2023

Dan Lefebvre standing in the colorful bar setting at Burger Paradox

Dan Lefebvre at Burger Paradox

Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood has burgeoned with new businesses of late. Three new restaurants opened there in 2023, including Bali Asian Cuisine, Burger Paradox and Oasis del Norte. A fourth, Ritual Salad, is slated to open in early 2024.

Sunshine Café leads the list of 2023 restaurant casualties

The Sunshine Café in West Duluth closed at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. Owners announced this year it will not reopen. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

One of Duluth’s most significant restaurant closures of 2023 technically happened in 2020. The Sunshine Café closed more than three years ago as COVID-19 swept the country. What was considered a temporary closure at the time was finally announced as permanent in September 2023.

The Twin Ports restaurant scene has stabilized and grown as the pandemic has wound down, but the closure of the beloved diner at 5719 Grand Ave. in West Duluth can be seen as evidence the coronavirus fallout lingers. The Sunshine Café had been a neighborhood gathering place for more than three decades.

Oasis del Norte restaurant opening soon

The brick-and-mortar Oasis del Norte restaurant in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District finally has an opening date. The Duluth News Tribune reports that Eduardo Sandoval Luna will open the taqueria-style Mexican eatery at 2401 W. Superior St. on Sept. 29, pending inspection from the Minnesota Health Department.

Sandoval Luna has operated the Oasis del Norte taco food trailer since 2015.

New restaurant to offer salads, soups and mystical gifts

Cori Zastera, left, and her husband Jason, stand in front of the Ritual Salad location at 1802 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park. The new restaurant is scheduled to open in October. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

A new fast-casual restaurant featuring healthy salads and soups is in the works for Lincoln Park as the booming Duluth neighborhood sees redevelopment push east along Superior Street toward Garfield Avenue.

PDD Quiz: Restaurant Roundup

This summer has seen lots of movement on the restaurant front: new restaurants are popping up and existing restaurants are moving or expanding to additional locations. Dig into this week’s quiz to test your knowledge of the local food scene.

The next PDD quiz comes your way on Aug. 27; it will review the month’s headlines and happenings. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 23.

Bali Asian Cuisine bringing Pan-Asian food to Duluth

Bali Asian Cuisine owner and chef Nevi Mariadi stands in front of her Lincoln Park restaurant bar.

A restaurant featuring Indonesian food and an array of other Asian fare will open in Lincoln Park as early as September. Bali Asian Cuisine will serve up fresh and flavorful food, according to chef and owner Nevi Mariadi.

Postcard from Bloomer’s Drive-in

Bloomer’s Drive-in was a roadside restaurant in Duluth, located near the ore docks and Wade Stadium. It opened in 1955, operated by Walter Bloomer and his younger brother Robert. It was sold in 1960.

Round-up Bar and Grill plans new patio space

Round-up Bar and Grill owner Mike Ronning stands outside the site of a new side patio. Landscaping, furniture, games and a small stage will be built on the site of the former Fine Frog Emporium. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

A longstanding Duluth bar known for its family-owned roots and connection to country music will add a new outdoor patio after an adjacent antique store was condemned and torn down earlier this year.

The Round-up Bar and Grill, 415 E. Fourth St., will construct space for outdoor dining and bar service along with a small stage on the east side of its building this summer. Fencing and signage have already been assembled and final landscaping work, lighting and furniture installation is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

The Social House in Canal Park is open

The Social House, a casual restaurant in Duluth’s Canal Park district, held a soft opening over the weekend and officially opened this morning. The location is the former Famous Dave’s at 355 S. Lake Ave.