In the fall of 2019, the North Loop welcomed Graze Provisions and Libations, a sweeping, two-level food hall, featuring an outdoor green space, rooftop patio, two bars, and a collection of creative food vendors right around the corner from Target Field.
A few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the 14,000-square-foot food hall struggled to garner foot traffic. The food hall needed a splashy move and made one in luring the crew from Travail Kitchen to use their star power to bring in new vendors and upgrade the food hall’s programming.
The food hall has changed its name to Graze Food Hall by Travail to reflect James Beard semifinalists Mike Brown, Bob Gerken, and James Winberg’s input. It’s never a dull moment for Travail Collective, which has kept busy with the upcoming revival of ie Italian Eatery by Travail and the recent launch of the cocktail bar, Stargazer. The hospitality group also includes Nouvelle Kitchen & Brewing, featuring pizzas by Pig Ate My Pizza in Robbinsdale and Dream Creamery in Northeast Minneapolis.
Their idea to revive Graze was to place some of the biggest names in the local scene under one roof with affordable ways to indulge in award-winning cuisine.
“I think that you’re going to find, with current pricing economic uncertainty, that fine dining chefs are looking for ways that they can still be accessible to the public,” says Molly Herrmann, director of operations at Graze. “This is one of those great ways to do that. A stall at a food hall is very approachable, it’s a low entry point for somebody that wants to add another location, and it rounds out the offerings for us.”
Travail brought in a trio of heavyweights in the Twin Cities’ buzzy dining scene. Kicking things off in late January, the hospitality group opened its OG pop-up Umami by Travail with dumplings from Saturday Dumpling Co., egg rolls, and miso-based dishes. Earlier this month, Gustavo and Kate Romero, founders of the critically lauded Nixta Tortilleria and the James Beard nominated Oro by Nixta launched Tixtli by Nixta, a casual taqueria that leans heavily into masa-based creations and tacos filled with pork belly, beef tongue, or butternut squash. On Monday, February 10, Margo and Alex Roberts (the latter, a chef who won a James Beard Award in 2010) of the Restaurant Alma and Brasa will unveil a New Orleans Creole and Southern fried chicken spot, Caja Fried Chicken with bone-in chicken and tenders fried in beef tallow.
“We have five James Beard-[recognized] chefs under one roof, and that’s pretty darn cool,” adds Herrmann.
The 14,000-square-foot food hall includes multiple indoor seating areas, a patio deck and bar on the second floor, and bar and picnic tables at street level. Other vendors include Wrad, a thin-crust tavern-style pizzeria with wraps from the team behind Detroit-style pizzeria Wrecktangle; and Graze on the Green, a salad and rice bowl spot. Both Fabled Rooster and Two Mixed Up are holdovers predating Travail’s arrival
Travail’s beverage director Robb Jones will refresh the food hall’s bar program in the coming weeks.
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