Eliesa Johnson
Photographs of Revival Smoked Meats in Minneapolis, MN. All photos taken by Eliesa Johnson of The Restaurant Project 2022.
Yesterday, Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone announced that as of August 14, they would be closing the original Nicollet Avenue location of Revival.
"We'll miss that space, we've been in it since the beginning," Boemer told me. They began their journey together around 2011 in that tiny restaurant when it was the sustainable farm-to-table spot Corner Table. They initially bought it from Chef Scott Pampuch, and then turned it into the first Revival location in 2015, igniting a fried chicken frenzy in town.
"It just made sense to bring it all under one roof," Rancone added. That one roof is the one over Revival Smoked Meats, which the duo recently relaunched up the street. "We thought it would work to keep them separate, chicken down there and smoked meats up here, but the neighborhood kept telling us they wished they could have it all together."
Revival Smoked Meats started as a counter-service spot in Keg & Case, but closed with the pandemic. Its new home has off street parking, table service, a full bar and cocktail menu, a refurbished and expanded patio, "and now fried chicken, too" Boemer said. "We'll begin to migrate the favorites, the white cheddar grits, the mac 'n' cheese, and of course the burger will make their way onto the Smoked Meats menu in the coming weeks."
So just one Revival on Nicollet now, it makes more sense to me. The St. Paul and St. Louis Park locations of Revival remain open as well.
