Fhima's Minneapolis closes, but restaurateur has new downtown plans

• The restaurant enjoyed a major post-pandemic rebound as people went out to spend money after being cooped up. But that waned in recent years and workers never returned in the same numbers, Fhima said.
• The historic nature of the building — it's a 120-year-old Art Deco restaurant surrounded by newer construction — became very expensive to maintain, he added.

Plus: Target's $110 million lease buyout last month confirmed the company's corporate workers were never coming back to the complex.

• The retailer consolidated in two properties a few blocks south.

Yes, but: Fhima remains bullish on downtown, even if it's going through a transition that makes sit-down dining tricky.

• He's building out a new French-American skyway restaurant and commissary kitchen in the nearby U.S. Bancorp Center, where he already operates one of his three downtown Mother Dough bakeries.
• The counter-service breakfast and lunch restaurant will serve sandwiches, salads and pastries and the commissary kitchen will service his booming catering business and Mother Dough locations.

What we're watching: The restaurateur said he is in discussions on a couple locations to re-open the Moroccan Fhima's concept in late 2026 or early 2027.