In the restaurant business, it often seems like the only constant is change.
Chef Lawrence Kirkland of The Lexington on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue has a résumé that includes being a private chef for NFL players and helming the kitchen at 801 Fish in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of The Lexington)
Although The Lexington has remained a stable force in the St. Paul culinary scene for nearly a century, it has endured, and continues to endure, a constant churn behind the scenes.
As the restaurant approaches its 90th anniversary, the staff is planning for a big blowout event (you’re invited, too!) with a new chef and ownership that has shuffled again in the past few years.
Chef Lawrence Kirkland, who started just a few months ago, is still getting his sea legs running the 22,000-square-foot restaurant and event space, making small changes to the dessert menu and running seafood specials that hint at new items that he might add to the main menu. As if that isn’t enough, he’s been in charge of creating an event menu that includes a giant seafood tower, a grazing table, and a whole host of passed appetizers.
The anniversary event will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the restaurant. Each space will have a theme, from a “bubble room” sponsored by Veuve Clicquot to a “barrel room” featuring The Lexington’s own barrel of 2XO whiskey to a “red room” with Orin Swift wines. There will also be a cigar and Scotch experience on the rooftop patio — the first 30 guests will receive a complimentary hand-rolled cigar dipped in Dalmore scotch.
There will be live vintage jazz from Debbie Briggs, displays of restaurant artifacts hauled upstairs from the Lexington’s labyrinth-like basement and costumed historians offering guided tours of the building. Tickets are just $50 and are available at thelexmn.com.
Also at that link, there’s a place for guests to share stories and photos from their visits to The Lex over the years.
“When ownership has changed hands over the years, it’s been basically a handshake and ‘here’s the keys,’” said general manager and COO Craig Ritacco, who is a new addition to the ownership group in the past few years. “Not a lot of work has been done to collect that history. We’d love people’s stories and photos to help fill that out.”
Ritacco was hired by the late chef Jack Riebel, whose tenure as a co-owner coincided with the massive remodel and 2017 relaunch of the restaurant after it was closed for a few years. After Riebel’s 2021 death, partners Josh Thoma and Kevin Fitzgerald were bought out. And in 2024, Ritacco was invited to join the ownership group, adding COO to his general manager title.
Craig Ritacco, general manager and COO of The Lexington on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue. (Courtesy of The Lexington)
Ritacco is a history buff, so The Lex is an obvious fit for him. It’s also what makes him so excited to celebrate the longevity of the storied restaurant.
He has brought some of the history to the forefront of the space, adding vintage photos to the foyer and framing Riebel’s chef coat and hanging it just inside the doors.
“When I went to visit him just before he passed, Jack said, ‘You know, you have to take care of the place, keep it going,’” Ritacco said. “And sometimes I sit in the chair across from his chef’s coat and chat with him about how things are going.”
There’s been a lot of talk about The Lex being haunted, but for Ritacco, it’s more about living out the legacy that so many before him have created.
“The Lexington is bigger than just one person,” he said.
Kirkland, whose eclectic résumé includes working as a private chef to an NFL offensive lineman and most recently helming the kitchen at 801 Fish in Minneapolis, says he’s honored to be a part of the legacy and is taking menu changes slowly.
“I know I have to put my stamp on it, but I’m trying to do it delicately,” Kirkland said. “There’s a ton of history here. The classics might need to be revamped a little bit, but I don’t want to make too many changes too fast.”
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