Business & Tech

Long-Awaited Kingfield Tapas Bar Gets Liquor Hearing

It's an indication Rincon 38 could open soon.

Kingfield could be getting a present, just in time for Christmas or Hanukah. Next Monday, Nov. 26, Kingfield residents will get to weigh in on Rincon 38's application for sidewalk cafe and liquor licenses. 

The tapas bar-to-be is asking for only a wine and beer license, and will not be serving hard liquor.

The license applications are typically one of the last steps a new restaurant undertakes before it opens. Rincon 38's prospective home at the corner of West 38th Street and Grand Avenue has been under construction or lying idyll since last winter.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Rincon 38 is the brainchild of Cafe Ena  chef Hector Ruiz. As Patch reported back in January :

“Rincon” means “little corner” in Spanish, and little it will be, with only 35 seats and plenty of little tables and a counter of single stools. The inspiration, Ruiz said, was the Spanish habit of eating little bites and drinking a glass of wine in the long breaks in between meals—Spanish breakfast happens around 8 a.m., lunch around 3 or 4 p.m., and dinner not until 9 or 10 p.m.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“Tapas fill the space in between,” Ruiz said.

“When my (Spanish) friends invite me to their houses, this is stuff I eat with them,” added the well-traveled Ruiz, a native of Mexico who’s worked in restaurants in France and visited Spain many times. “I tried to replicate or recombine those things into new dishes.”

The restaurant will also be on the less expensive side of local dining.

Affordability, Ruiz said, was his other guiding star. None of the wines, he said, will go above $5 to $10 per glass, and the plates will likely run between $10 and $12.

Anyone interested in attending the hearing and giving testimony should show up at Minneapolis City Hall's Room 317—the City Council's chambers—at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 26. Anyone interested in suggesting tapas-dinner collaborations between Rincon 38 and the kitty-corner Victor's 1959 Cafe should probably contact the respective owners.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here