Illustration by Anne-Li Karlsson
Illustration of the Keg and Case Market in St. Paul
Sooner or later—and some weeks we’re told sooner and some weeks we’re told later—the 33,000-square-foot storage building for the old Schmidt Brewery will turn into . . . something. Will this spot on St. Paul’s West Seventh Street become an unprecedented, Disney World–style foodie destination the likes of which Minnesota has never imagined—or merely a locavore food court? We are dying to see! Till it actually opens (at press time, the best guess was mid-September), here’s your cheat sheet for something that just might be very, very big.
Keg & Case takes the basic form of a large open box with a balcony running around the building interior. On the ground floor, more than 20 vendors will sell everything from local body products to mushrooms, meats, cheeses, coffee, switchels, and cotton candy. 928 W. 7th St., St. Paul, kegandcase.com
Beer from Clutch Brewing
Clutch Brewing will fill the balcony with a taproom and seating, bringing beer back to the famed Schmidt Brewery site. Bring food from the market vendors and make a feast of it.
Forest to Fork will be the state’s first foraged-foods grocer. The operation will also produce mushrooms on site in a glass-walled growing chamber. Expect king oyster mushrooms, shiitake, lion’s mane, and more.
In Bloom is the120-seat anchor restaurant. It’s from the talented Corner Table and Revival crew, and Thomas Boemer will be the chef. He’s promising a Midwestern ingredient–centered restaurant, with most of the menu prepared in a wood-fired hearth big enough to hold four adults playing tug-of-war.
Sweet Science Ice Cream
Sweet Science will scoop ice cream for sundaes and cones; Spinning Wylde will offer its made-to-order cotton candy in flavors like blood orange, pomegranate, and wasabi. Rounding out your 20-course meal: Five Watt will open a sit-down coffee shop; Rose Street Patisserie brings its famed Minneapolis treats east, with a new specialty in tea.
K’nack will be the hip St. Paul outpost of award-magnet RJ’s Meats from Hudson, Wisconsin. Here it’ll sell its own house-made sausages, while also serving as a gallery and market for other local wurst artists. Plus, sandwiches to order.
Gazta and Enhancements will be a “cheese bar.” That is, a retail grab ’n’ go cheese shop and a place to sit for cocktails, craft beers, and wine, paired with cheese and small bites.
House of Halva promises imported Israeli halva, made-to-order tahini, and tahini-almond-milk smoothies. Pimento Jamaican Kitchen brings its quick-serve jerk chicken and curry veggie bowls.
Worker B stocks local honey and body products; Green Bee Juicery will offer organic cold-pressed bottled juices with produce that nurtures local bee populations; Croix Valley will sell spices and bloody mary mixes; Hobby Farmer Canning Company will carry pickled foods and vinegar-based switchel drinks.
Sign up for our newsletter to get inside access to the latest local food and dining buzz.
