All in all, they have had a good run.
The staff and owners of Saint Dinette, the bright, modern “finer diner” in Lowertown St. Paul are choosing to focus on the positives as they prepare to close March 22.
The restaurant, which opened in the spring of 2014, has been serving butter-infused cheeseburgers, perfect omelettes, beautifully plated pastas and excellent cocktails for nearly 10 years, and that’s more than many places — even those adored by critics and tastemakers — get.
“I’m closing at this moment with a feeling of full achievement,” owner Tim Niver said. “I broke even and I had 10 years of something amazing.”
But overall, the story of Saint Dinette, and its fate, are emblematic of a larger issue: Many restaurants downtown, and particularly in Lowertown, are suffering, closed or on their way to it.
In general, owning a restaurant is harder than ever. Inflation has slashed profit margins for owners who are hesitant to raise prices lest they lose their regulars. Labor prices have leaped. Rent everywhere is sky-high, and interest rates make it unappealing to own a building. And customers, who are facing their own financial woes with interest rates, housing costs and inflation, have less money to spend on eating out.
Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette stops for a photo at his downtown St. Paul restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Almost every restaurant, Niver and others in the industry say, is just a few slow weeks or months away from closure.
These closures are a loss for the community — gathering places are an important part of our society, and all types of cuisine contribute to the culture and vibe of a city. But they’re also a loss for employees who have poured their hearts into the business.
Nicole Paton, general manager of Saint Dinette, said she fully understands what led to the closure and harbors no hard feelings. She and the restaurant’s 21 other employees are putting their all into these final few weeks.
“A restaurant closing doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Paton said. “We’re going out by choice. Closing after 10 years isn’t anything to be disappointed about. I’m looking at it as a positive moment instead of spending all my time thinking about what I’m going to do next.”
For his part, Niver says the closure is multi-faceted. His landlord wanted him to sign a five-year lease, and he wasn’t confident that Lowertown would rebound enough to make that lease worthwhile.
“And the demographics of the area have changed,” Niver said. “When we opened, it was older people who lived around here, but the neighborhood flipped. Younger people have moved in, and what we do doesn’t fit that demographic. Their interests and what I do don’t necessarily align.”
Even bars that might appear to be geared toward a younger crowd aren’t immune, though. Just down the street, Dark Horse Bar & Eatery recently announced it would close on Valentine’s Day. The World of Beer space on nearby Sibley Street has been sitting empty since 2019, and the site of the former Black Dog Cafe has been unoccupied since 2022. With the exception of The Bulldog, all the restaurant spaces surrounding Mears Park are empty. And rumors of other nearby closures swirl as winter drags on.
Owner Steve Lott stands inside of Big River Pizza in St. Paul on Thursday, July 30, 2015. (Pioneer Press: Holly Peterson)
Saint Dinette’s across-the-street neighbor, Big River Pizza, is one of those teetering on the edge of closure. Owner Steve Lott said Lowertown’s changes include an influx of unhoused people, many of whom suffer from addiction and mental illness. While Lott used to be the first to offer an in-need person a free slice, he said he’s grown jaded from burglaries, overdoses on his street corner, a gun left in his restaurant and even a murder in the apartments above Big River.
Lott said an unpoliced light-rail line — which ends a block from his restaurant — and nearby facilities that help unhoused people are contributing to the problem.
“I think elected officials have good intentions,” Lott said. “But some of the policies have negatively impacted the business community.”
Areas outside the city center are suffering, too. Revival, the fried-chicken and burger-centric restaurant that opened a location on Selby Avenue late in 2016, recently — and suddenly — shuttered all of its locations.
Co-owner Thomas Boemer said it’s a tough time for restaurants in the Twin Cities.
“Every single cost that we have has drastically increased and is still increasing,” he said. “It hasn’t stopped. When you combine that with where we started a year ago with a massive labor shortage which pushed the labor cost and wage up exponentially. … It’s all going up and you’re racing to follow. I think there’s a fundamental shift and change in people’s dining habits because of it. Over the past few months or past year, it’s just insanely expensive to go out to dinner.”
It’s not all bad news downtown, though. The owners of the popular local chain Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteak are taking over the former Black Sheep space on Robert Street. Co-owner Shaz Khan said he knows his company is taking a risk opening their new concept, Prince Coal-Fired Pizza, in the struggling downtown area, but it’s a calculated one that he hopes pays off.
“We have a headquarters and real estate in St. Paul … and we have formed a lot of relationships there,” Khan said. “I look in the mirror and say who better to begin making a change than myself. We hope we can be that oomph that makes a change for the area.”
In response to an inquiry for this article, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office sent us the following via email:
“As we have worked through the normal cycle of businesses opening and closing, we’ve worked especially hard to improve the concerns around public safety … Within the last year, we’ve also celebrated 10 restaurants opening across Downtown, including Ruam Mit Thai, 1881 by Lake Elmo Inn, and soon Prince Coal-Fired Pizza. This work is tied to our efforts to revitalize downtown St. Paul. As development continues to increase Downtown, we will continue to prioritize the relationships we’ve built with business owners and community partners alike.”
Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette talks with a patron at his downtown St. Paul restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
As for Niver, he said that although he’s at peace with Saint Dinette’s closure, he does feel a little let down by city officials. Moves such as raising the minimum wage to $15 without a tip credit have made things more difficult for restaurant owners, and empty properties make coming downtown less appealing for those who don’t live there.
“They have hearings,” Niver said of city officials. “But they’re not listening.”
So what’s next for Niver and Paton?
Niver, who was recently named a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award for hospitality at his other St. Paul restaurant, Mucci’s, said he plans to take a little time “finding out what owning one restaurant is like.”
He said he has lots of ideas for future concepts, but is happy to take his time figuring out whether he wants to act on any of them.
And Paton, who has worked in restaurants her entire career, said she hasn’t decided where she’ll go next, or even if it will be in the hospitality industry.
“I know that I love being in this industry,” Paton said. “I’m not dying to get out, but I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t think about it.”
Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette talks with Amy Daniels at his downtown St. Paul restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
For now, though, it’s all hands on deck as the crew at Saint Dinette works the dining room, still adding new menu items and taking care of every guest as if they were family.
They’ll maintain that level of culinary excellence and hospitality until the last day. Speaking of which, reservations, especially on weekends, are starting to become scarce. So if you want one more cheeseburger, you should book a table now.
Saint Dinette: 261 E. Fifth St., St. Paul; 651-800-1415; saintdinette.com
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