The yellow wallpaper is back up at 730 Washington Ave. N. It's the '70s-yellow print from the original Revival. Jester Concepts brought it back as part of a refresh of the room that was Borough until last month, along with light linens and cream reupholstered seats. Revival reopens there on Monday, Nov. 9.
This month's biggest North Loop changes are handoffs. Borough's room took about six weeks to become Revival. The Loop, a 20-year fixture on Washington Avenue, has its last day set for Nov. 29 and a planned replacement already lined up for its space.
Borough's Room, Six Weeks Later
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Revival North Loop replaces Borough. Jester Concepts owned Borough and closed it last month. Jester didn't have to look for a new concept. It bought Revival's recipes and branding after the founders, Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone, closed all of their locations in January 2025, and it has hired a couple of former Revival kitchen employees.
The group has done this before in the same neighborhood. Jester bought the Butcher & the Boar name and recipes when that restaurant closed and reopened it in the North Loop in 2023. So in a few years, two well-known names have come back on these blocks under new ownership.
The menu keeps the original's core and builds outward from it. Chef Mike DeCamp, Jester's co-owner and operations director, put it to the Star Tribune this way: "We decided to treat it like a steakhouse, but our steak is fried chicken." According to the paper, the familiar items are:
- Fried chicken in three heat levels: original Southern Fried, Tennessee Hot and Poultrygeist
- A gluten-free batter that is cooked only in dedicated fryers
- Drop biscuits, sweet potato hot sauce, grits and banana cream pie
- New starters, salads, desserts and sides such as mashed potatoes with poultry gravy and red beans and rice
- A full bar with spiked and nonalcoholic drinks, including an NA cocktail called the Free Bird
Hours are expected to run from lunch through dinner, and weekend brunch is promised later. The building has a history of its own. Parlour, the downstairs neighbor, became famous for the burger that helped spread smash burgers across the metro. DeCamp noted that Parlour and Revival got started around the same time.
A second, smaller Revival opens the same day as a stand inside the Market at Malcolm Yards food hall. It serves a shorter menu centered on the chicken, also from lunch through dinner. If you're in the North Loop, the Washington Avenue dining room is the one to visit.
The Loop's Last Month, With a Next Act Already Planned
Farther along Washington Avenue, at 606 N. Washington, The Loop is in its final weeks. The North Loop Neighborhood Association calls the bar one of the "OGs" of the neighborhood's entertainment scene. It is closing after 20 years, and its last day of business is Sunday, Nov. 29.
The space will sit empty only through the winter. The neighborhood association reports that a Nashville-style bar and restaurant with Southern food and live country music three nights a week is planned for the address. The target is late spring or early summer 2027, after four or five months of interior demolition and construction. The people behind it are already North Loop operators. Behn Taheri and his partners have run the Ava disco lounge on 3rd Avenue for more than two years.
"We would like to be kind of a neighborhood bar with live music, some good food and just another good addition to the North Loop."
Taheri told the North Loop Neighborhood Association that he was inspired by the rows of bars and music venues along Lower Broadway in Nashville. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal also covered the plan.
Retail is turning over too. The neighborhood association reported that Nonpareil, a menswear shop near Target Field, opened in early October.
A Minnesota First at 107 3rd Ave. N.
Of this month's arrivals, only one is new to the state. PopUp Bagels is scheduled to open its first Minnesota location at 107 3rd Ave. N. on Friday, Nov. 6, which is tomorrow for anyone reading this on publication day. Company representatives told Bring Me The News that the date could still change.
The chain started during the pandemic and now has 59 locations across the U.S., according to its website. Bring Me The News reports that its openings often draw long lines. The format is narrow on purpose. Bagels come hot and unsliced in five varieties: plain, everything, poppy seed, salt and sesame. There are no sandwiches. The house recommendation is to tear the bagel and dip it in a container of schmear.
The local franchisees, Dan D'Aquisto and Alex Smereczniak, are adding a Minnesota touch for the opening. It's a limited-time schmear inspired by Old Dutch Spicy Cheddar & Sour Cream chips. After opening, the shop plans to be open daily from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. That puts it on the neighborhood's early schedule, with coffee runs and Saturday errands, and it's done for the day before most of Washington Avenue's dinner crowd shows up.
The Weekends Belong to North Loop Green
The month's biggest gathering is also a return. The Minneapolis Christkindl Market comes back to North Loop Green on Friday, Nov. 20, and runs Friday through Sunday for five weekends, ending Sunday, Dec. 20. Bring Me The News reports that this year's market doubles the size of its warming space and adds 10 vendors, bringing the total to 45. The outlet also lists roasted chestnuts, sweet Germknödel dumplings, mulled wine, choirs, carolers, dance performances and free activities for kids. The market's own site adds Glühwein, raclette, alpine-style wooden huts and visits from Santa every Sunday.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Friday | 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
Those hours come from a Minnesota's New Country guide to the market. The market's FAQ page lists admission as free and points drivers to Ramp C, the North Loop Green ramp, and the A and B ramps. Its contact page gives the address as 350 N. 5th St. and suggests the train to Target Field Station. Some of that guidance carries over from earlier seasons, so check the market's site before you go.
The Month, in Order
Taken in order, the dates show how close together the handoffs fall:
- Friday, Nov. 6: PopUp Bagels is scheduled to open at 107 3rd Ave. N., open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
- Monday, Nov. 9: Revival opens at 730 Washington Ave. N. in Borough's former room, and its stand at Market at Malcolm Yards opens the same day.
- Friday, Nov. 20: The Christkindl Market opens on North Loop Green at 4 p.m.
- Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 27 to 29: The market's second weekend lines up with The Loop's last three days.
- Sunday, Nov. 29: The Loop's final day of business at 606 N. Washington.
- Sunday, Dec. 20: Last day of the Christkindl Market.
- Late spring or early summer 2027: The planned country bar opens at The Loop's address.
The Sunday The Loop closes is also a market Sunday, with Santa on North Loop Green that afternoon while The Loop serves its last day at 606 N. Washington.
If you own a home in the North Loop and want to know how this stretch of openings and handoffs fits into your plans, Renee Wilson is glad to talk it through. Schedule a consultation or request a personal home valuation, and you'll get a straight read on your block from someone who has followed this market for more than 30 years.
