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Naked sushi can't save Temple
Filed under: Restaurants
With or without naked sushi, I’m surprised Temple lasted as long as it did, actually. When I reviewed the restaurant a year and a half ago, I thought the space was stunning but the food was wildly inconsistent. In the following months, as soon as Temple’s novelty wore off, it struggled to attract guests, despite a series of Hennepin Avenue billboards.
The aforementioned naked sushi event, which City Pages reviewed and photographed, was a big success. But it couldn't stop this from happening.
While WCCO’s recent report blamed Temple’s demise on rising food costs, I think Temple’s location may have doomed it from the start, even if the cusine had been better. Though 1201 Harmon Place is right off Hennepin Avenue and just blocks from Loring Park, the address always seemed like blind spot in a car mirror--right there, yet right out of sight. The fact that the space’s previous occupant, the Caribbean themed Tiberon, was equally short lived, will perhaps give future leasees pause.
But the prize for most cursed restaurant address in Minneapolis has to go to 2819 Hennepin Avenue--former home of the poorly named but tasty Mysore Café, which just closed a few days ago.
In the past five or so years, 2819 has housed nearly as many restaurants: Antoine’s Creole Maison, Taj of India, the nomadic Uptown Diner, and the Sri Lanka Curry House. The space has always seemed a little dark and awkard to me, in dire need of a decent decorator, and, renting 3,200 square feet of space (at about $25-$35 square feet, according to the realtor who’s selling the building) is not exactly cheap. Are underfunded, poorly qualified restaurateurs biting off more than they can chew, or is there something more to it…
Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 21, 2008 12:50 PM
« Chefs for Change: April 21 | Main | There's No Place Like Third Place »
Comments
Ah, the ol' "Eyesore Cafe" or "Cold Sore Cafe" as we liked to refer to it as.
Every time I went there the food was very good to truly excellent.
Ever time I went there fewer and fewer people seemed to share the restaurant with me.
Every time I went there the service was mediocre to horrid on a downward trend.
Every time I went there something - a plate, utensil, glass - was very, very dirty.
Their closing is certainly no surprise. If they could have gotten their act together... the food was always good.
That space needs a major renovation. I'd rather see a restaurant half the size go in and not fail under the price of rent. Namaste seems to do okay with their small dining room.
Posted by: sorely missed? at April 21, 2008 6:51 PM
I definitely think it has something to do with calling it the Mysore ....sounds a lot like Misery...seems like common sense to me. I love eating out. I love new restaurants and never once did I think to try it.
Posted by: ashley at April 22, 2008 9:59 AM
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