Almost two years after going dormant, Tiny Diner (1024 E. 38th St., Mpls.) will reopen June 25.
Initial hours will be Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with plans to expand to evening hours and pop-up events. Leading the kitchen is Stephanie Portillo, Placemaker Hospitality’s executive chef, who returns to the restaurant where she used to cook. According to those in the know, several former employees who still live in the neighborhood will return along with new faces, including general manager Justin Beard.
On the menu will be a mix of breakfast and lunch standards, like the breakfast burrito and macro bowl, along with some new menu items, with vegetarian, vegan and omnivore options.
As the name suggests, the interior seating is cozy with 60 seats, but the expansive patio adds 88 more, many in the shade under the solar panels.
It’s a full-circle moment for the restaurant that was founded with sustainability as a core value. First opened in 2014 by Kim Bartmann’s Placemaker Hospitality group, Tiny Diner’s small structure and surrounding grounds were built with a green mindset, surrounded by food-producing gardens, rainwater containment system and those solar panels.
To rebuild the gardens, original garden designer Koby Jeschkeit-Hagen is helping direct the farming. “It’s magical what people who know all that stuff can do,” said Bartmann. “One minute it’s asphalt and the next it’s thriving with 100 different kinds of plants.”
She and several employees showed up to plant, and were joined by helpers from the neighborhood. Rebuilding, replanting and community are tenets of the area.
Tiny Diner’s space hasn’t been vacant. The Real Minneapolis nonprofit had been using the space for the past year to prepare meals in partnership with Second Harvest Heartland. Those operations are now moving to a commercial space on Chicago Avenue near George Floyd Square.
