The deal was signed yesterday. After months of speculation, and a few weeks of digging, I can confirm that the North Loop building which housed The Bachelor Farmer and Marvel Bar has been sold to Ryan Burnet and Daniel del Prado.
"It was important to me to leave the next chapter of The Bachelor Farmer's home in good hands," Eric Dayton messaged me. "I'm proud of the contribution we made to the neighborhood over the past decade and couldn't be happier to now pass the torch to Daniel, Ryan, and their team. I'll be rooting for their success, and for the continued momentum of the North Loop."
The award-winning restaurant and cutting edge basement bar closed with the pandemic and never reopened. One year later, the building was listed for $1, an amount that served as a placeholder while the actual asking price remained confidential.
According to my colleagues at TCB Mag, the property was owned by the Daft Group, LLC, whose principal is Eric Dayton. The building was last sold in May 2008 for $865,000, according to county records. The property’s estimated market value in 2021 was more than $3.7 million, records state.
While del Prado is on a hot streak of opening restaurants, this one will be different. He has an ownership stake in the building. "Ryan approached me, we are friends, he knew that it has been my goal for a long time to have ownership in a building," del Prado told me, "Have you watched the McDonald's movie? The Founder? They weren't in the fast food business, they were in the real estate business." Later del Prado texted me a quote which succinctly summed up the dynamic for him, "You don't build an empire off a 1.4% cut of a 15 cent hamburger, you build it by owning the land on which that burger is cooked."
To be clear, this is not going to be a burger spot. Del Prado told me that he's taking his time with this one, "I don't want to rush it, this is important to me. I want this one to be the restaurant I've always wanted to make. It's going to be like a steakhouse, but with a lot of Argentinian influence, not really American style. I'm bringing it back to who I am, what I always like to cook at home."
He says there will still be a bar in the basement, and that he wants to honor what Marvel did for the city's bar scene, "there will be some nods to its past." But beyond that they are still working things out, including the name, "I want it all to be perfect."
For anyone keeping track, del Prado just opened Macanda in Wayzata and is in the process of re-launching the dining and bar spaces in The Rand Hotel. Everyone wants to know how he's able to take on so many projects. So I asked. "You know, we keep adding people to our team, I call it the task force. But it's great for people in the hospitality industry to see a path for growth. I want them to have opportunities too."
Of his partner Burnet, del Prado says they work really well together. Burnet is a veteran restaurateur with stakes in Barrio, Bar La Grassa, Burch Steak (RIP), Station Pizzeria, Eastside (RIP), and initially Crisp & Green. "I've known and been friends with Dani for a long time," Burnet messaged me, "I've been able to appreciate his work and character along the way and I'm proud to partner with him on this. I know it's an important project for us and hopefully the city as well."
Stay tuned for updates, they think they'll be ready to go by next summer.
