4 restaurant locations unexpectedly close over the weekend

Four restaurants suddenly closed over the weekend, but the tough news comes with a glimmer of hope for fans, depending on their level of optimism.

Barrio, one of the last original tenants from the Lowertown revitalization 15 years ago, has left St. Paul. The tequila-focused restaurant and bar gave no advance notice on social media. According to a sign taped to the front door of the restaurant, Sept. 6 was its final night of business. The restaurant first opened across from Mears Park in 2009. It's the latest closure in a string of now-vacant restaurant properties on this block, with only Bulldog Lowertown still operating.

Meanwhile, Barrio's original downtown Minneapolis location on Nicollet Mall, as well as Edina's Cocina del Barrio and its outpost at MSP's Terminal 2, remain open.

Across town in Minneapolis, Vellee, the Mexican-Vietnamese restaurant, announced on Sept. 8 that all three of its locations would be closed until further notice. According to an Instagram post, troubles at one location triggered the closing, but a crowdfunding campaign hopes to bring at least some of the restaurants, if not all, back online.

William Xiong and chef Joyce Truong started Vellee Deli in 2011, during the early wave of the Twin Cities food truck scene. The mobile restaurant quickly grew in popularity and a permanent skyway location opened in downtown Minneapolis' Baker Center in 2015. In the summer of 2022, they opened an expanded Vellee with a full bar in northeast Minneapolis at the base of the newly constructed NordHaus Apartments. Earlier this year, the company launched an extended pop-up in Brooklyn Park that was expected to run through October.

Issues at the Northeast location led to the companywide closings. Vellee owners explained via Instagram: "Our streets have been plagued by two years of relentless construction, which has eliminated street parking and caused major disruptions to our retail parking lot, making it incredibly hard for many of you to reach us."

The post goes on to explain that the apartment building had been sold in July, and while they were in the midst of rent-relief negotiations with their landlord in hopes of returning to business, an eviction notice was served.

According to a Go Fund Me created by Xiong, "We have just 30 days to meet these needs and prevent further impact on our other locations." The couple seek to raise the $90,000 in back rent and additional costs to get their business up and running again.