Saying Goodbye To Cafe Twenty-Eight

In time, all good things must end, says the famous phrase.

In the case of , that ending came a bit sooner than many expected.  It will be closing its doors for good at the close of business on New Year’s Eve this year.

“I think we accomplished what we set out to do 10 years ago,” said owner Linda Haug. “Make solid food, not too ‘chef-y.’ Food that tastes like it was homemade.  That and support the local economy.”

Haug had planned on selling the business to longtime staff member Russ Conlon so she could pour herself into husband Todd Haug’s newest project, a “destination brewery” and restaurant for his company, Surly Brewing. However, landlords Joanne and Tom Ellison were looking for a different tenant, and would not be renewing the lease.

“I’d have given the kid a year lease,” Haug said while sitting at one of her tables in the restaurant’s rehabbed fire station home in Linden Hills. “Then, they could have seen what kind of an operator he would have been.”

Haug said since October’s closure announcement, business has picked up beyond normal fall and winter levels. While she’s not planning any special closing party—the restaurant’s reservation list for New Year’s is already booked—Haug said some loyal customers have been coming by for one last meal. Haug said one of the strangest parts of closing her business has been placing final orders with local farmers like Larry Schultz or Tim Fischer.

“Its definitely bittersweet,” Haug said. “There are a lot of very good people I’m going to miss. The staff, I’ve seen some of them more often than my family members.”

Haug said she is looking forward to a few things, though—having a bit of time to herself and getting her house back in order before pouring herself into Surly’s taproom/restaurant project.