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When the federal government came in and shut down all the illegal stuff that was happening in Shakopee, they put the gambling machines behind this wall and sealed it off,’” Donatell recalled. Additional findings within the building have included a moving bookshelf and decades of information gathered through the historical society. The restaurant is currently serving a bridge menu to help ease the transition into Shakopee House and see what menu items customers are gravitating toward. Remodeling has also taken place downstairs, where the Rum Row Basement Tiki Bar is being established. Rum Row centers around a tropical vacation feel and a bit of escapism, Donatell explained. The basement is expected to open in about two weeks.
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The supper-club-style Shakopee House opened late last fall, and reimagined itself once again with a Cajun and Creole menu earlier this year. The size of the space (with two floors and four patios), two floods and the economic challenges facing restaurants are the reasons for the closure, wrote Tony Donatell, owner of the Hospitality Collective restaurant group, on social media. "We missed the target of what this community was looking for, didn't hold ourselves to the standard we set, and made changes too late." With his family’s permission, Cumberbatch’s dream has now been brought back to life with the creation of Rum Row.
HISTORICAL FINDS
The restaurant owner was able to figure out who’s briefcase it was and even spoke with his family. He was a rum-runner during prohibition who had dreams of opening is own bar. They’ve done it for him in the basement of Shakopee House. The supper club and tiki bar’s themes are heavily inspired by the building’s century-long history. Shakopee House CEO and co-owner Tony Donatell (pictured) and his team found historical relics during construction, including this leather travel case tucked away in the basement ceiling.
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To revive the great Minnesota supper club tradition while giving humble classics (think platters and prime rib) a fresh update. Pimento on the Lake (3000 Bde Maka Ska Pkwy., Mpls., pimento.com) will offer beachy twists on Pimento Jamaican Kitchen's popular food and drink menu. Pimento's Tomme Beevas joined forces with the team from Lola on the Lake, which operated the Bde Maka Ska concessions building before it burned down in 2019.
"He put together recipes for cocktails. He had rum in there, he had post cards from his travels and his adventures. We used what we found and some of the stories from his family to create the rum row concept for the basement." Historical finds during construction included a leather travel case belonging to Lawrence H. Cumberbatch, a bartender who used to work in the building. Within the case were a number of postcards from his travels, maps, cocktail recipes and a collection of rum, gin and whiskey from the early 1900s.
The supper club is in the transition process, still running under the name Dangerfield’s, and looks to be fully rebranded with the new name by mid-November. The suitcase belonged to Lawrence H. Cumberbatch, a bartender who used to work in the building. Findings inside are on display near a staircase leading down to Rum Row. The suitcase is on display as you make your way down the staircase, where bamboo-lined walls and a faux canopy of greenery melt your worries away.
Eyes Wide Hospitality is converting Dangerfield's Restaurant into Shakopee House, a new supper club concept ... - The Business Journals
Eyes Wide Hospitality is converting Dangerfield's Restaurant into Shakopee House, a new supper club concept ....
Posted: Fri, 07 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Beyond remodeling changes, Shakopee House’s new feel is also reflected in updated menus for both the supper club and tiki bar. The wait is over — the Malibu Barbie Cafe is opening Oct. 27 at the Mall of America (60 E. Broadway), and tickets are now available. Each reservation at the fast-casual restaurant includes a 90-minute dining window, a choice of entree and side dish, and access to exclusive merchandise and Barbie-branded interactive activities, from a life-size Barbie box to roller skating. Tickets for the concept, from Mattel and Bucket Listers, are priced according to when you visit and what you order (entrees range from sandwiches and salads to breakfast favorites and have to be selected at checkout).
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Also in the basement, tucked behind a curtain in the back corner is Mezcaleria, an intimate candlelit Oaxacan-style mezcal bar. Here, traditional dishes are enticingly elevated—such as the juicy bone-in pork chop topped with a sweet-and-spicy pineapple medley. Surf fans will love the seared-to-perfection walleye fillet and creamy mushroom risotto. The handcrafted cocktails and after-dinner drinks are equally appealing, like the Lavender Lady, made with crème de violette and a frothy egg-white top. "Its sheer enormity, with four bars, four patios, and multiple dining rooms, coupled with not just one but two floods in our first year, proved too great of a challenge to overcome during this economic slowdown," the post said.
New supper club ‘Shakopee House’ replacing Dangerfield’s Restaurant
At the same time, it’s an ode to the restaurants past. During renovations, the team discovered a suitcase in the walls. Inside were post cards, bottles of rum and drink recipes.
Chandeliers, new light fixtures, button back chairs, gold accents and additional decor choices have been added to embody this era. The Rum Row Basement Tiki Bar is inspired by Cumberbatch, who wanted to open a Caribbean-themed basement bar while working at the Millpond Club but passed away before he could do so. Owner Tony Donatell wrote in the announcement they would work to secure staff positions at his other restaurants where possible, noting some are currently short-staffed.
The drink menu has been updated, as well, with more whiskeys and spirits being added to the bar as well as a brand new wine list. Classic, prohibition-era cocktails are also a focus, Donatell added, with signature cocktails looking to become a priority in the future when the restaurant is fully switched over. The main dining space will be remodeled to look like a supper club of the era. A stage will also be set up in the main dining room, where live entertainment like cabaret shows, comedy shows, “burlesque brunches” and jazz performances can be put on for guests. Donatell said plans for Shakopee House are to do “their version” of a supper club, heavily inspired by 1940s-era supper clubs and speakeasies.
“(We’ll) try to activate that stage as many nights as we can and kind of make this an entertainment destination as well as food and beverage,” Donatell said. After 30 years of being known as Dangerfield’s Restaurant, the historic restaurant location on First Avenue in Shakopee is entering a new chapter. A nod to Prohibition-era Shakopee, the likes of which John Dillinger and the notorious “Baby Face” Nelson would frequent. "It's almost like a tribute to somebody in his industry."
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