Excellent news for the St. Paul restaurant scene: The Commodore is coming back!
Owner John Rupp said the Cathedral Hill restaurant will go through a soft-open phase beginning Thursday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m. During the first month or so, the Art Deco space, first opened in 1920, will serve cocktails and a snack menu. It’ll be open Thursday through Sunday nights.
In November, the space will fully reopen as a restaurant with a full dinner menu.
The Commodore has been mostly closed since the COVID pandemic, except for private events. Rupp said there’s still plenty of space available for rentals, “but now we’re going to add the open-to-the-public component.”
“When we planned this, by the way, we thought the weather would be inclement,” Rupp said, which helps draw people indoors.
But the glittering Jazz Age space is sure to attract history buffs and cocktail lovers alike, no matter the weather.
The restaurant’s glamorous design has remained true to a 1933 remodel after Prohibition ended. It was modeled after bars found in the early 20th-century trans-Atlantic ocean liners.
The history of the property, now condominiums, but originally built as a hotel, is deep. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald was a resident during Prohibition, when there was a speakeasy in the basement.
Rupp said the phased opening will help the staff get up to speed with less of the new restaurant pain. He said he shares in the public’s excitement about the storied space.
“It deserves to be open,” Rupp said.
The Commodore: 79 N. Western Ave., St. Paul; 651-842-9098; thecommodorebar.com
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