Kiger's Notebook

Adding a bit of spice to Wabasha

Michael Murray-John plans to spice up Wabasha by opening a new Mexican restaurant.

Murray-John, who opened Vinifera in Wabasha last year with his wife, Debbie, is now cooking up Loco Gringos Cantina on Pembroke Avenue.

“It is going to be a family-oriented restaurant serving authentic, fresh Mexican cuisine, and we’ll have a full bar,” says Murray-John, who is the executive chef. 

It will serve residents from Wabasha and nearby communities, while Vinifera’s fine dining from a wine country concept attracts food fans from as far away as the Twin Cities.

“The Vinifera market is a bit limited, especially in the winter time,” he says. “With the laid-back Loco Gringos, we are trying to capture the lunch crowd and the late night crowd.”

They are targeting the opening of Loco Gringos for the week of Oct. 19. It should seat 30 in the dining room and 30 in the bar area.

He plans to offer 50 to 60 types of tequila. 

Somewhat like Vinifera, which offers wine samples for people interested in buying a bottle, Loco Gringos will have hot sauces for tasting and for purchase by the bottle.

Murray-John will offer two versions of most of the dishes on the menu — the American version and the Mexican version. The American version will include more shredded lettuce and grated cheese, while the Mexican version will feature more cilantro and onions.

While many of his 10 employees from Vinifera also will work at Loco Gringos, “we will definitely have to bring in more people to cover it,” he said.

Three area Chrysler dealers on closure list

Embattled car maker Chrysler wants to close roughly a quarter of its 3,200 U.S. dealerships – including three in southeastern Minnesota – by early next month.

The company, in a motion filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, said it wants to eliminate 789 dealerships by June 9. That list includes Boe Chrysler Center in West Concord, Paul Bush Auto Center in Wabasha and Merchant Motor Co. in Spring Valley.

Many of the dealers’ sales are too low, the automaker said. Just over 50 percent of dealers account for about 90 percent of the company’s U.S. sales, the motion said.

Hardcore Computer + "several million" = launch soon

Looking for a gift for that way serious video gamer on your Christmas list?

Here's part of piece that I have about Hardcore Computer Inc. for Tuesday's issue.

Before the holidays hit, Rochester makers of a “cool” computer hope to heat up the market.

Hardcore Computer, founded by Chad Attlesey, Daren Klum and Scott Littman, is in the final stages of development, says CEO Al Berning. Hardcore is creating a powerful liquid-cooled desktop computer to better handle the demand of computer games and graphics-intense design.

“When we started, we said our objective was to be on the market by 2008. That has not changed,” says Berning, a well-known local executive who has worked for IBM and helped found Pemstar Electronics. “We’ll be out before the holidays.”

The new computer, designed by Attlesey and Klum, is described as producing a lot more computing power by keeping the machine from heating up. A Hardcore computer will cost between $4,000 to $6,000.

Helping Hardcore with this last push before launching is “several million” from a recent round of private financing, says Berning.

More on Old Ways in Wabasha

Don’t expect to find any “molecular gastronomy” science experiment dishes on the menu at Chef Chad Rielander’s new restaurant in Wabasha.

“That’s a fad that overprocesses a dish,” he says. “I think food should nourish the soul as well as the body.”
Rielander named his new eatery after his style of cooking, The Old Ways. That means locally grown food and familiar dishes like pot roast.

“But it is not your grandma’s pot roast,” he says of his braised pot roast with horseradish mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Comfort food prepared really well is his description.

Rielander was the executive sous chef for Nosh restaurant in Wabasha and Lake City. Then the opportunity to have his own place came up.

“I wouldn’t have left Nosh for another job, but this was a great opportunity to do my own thing,” he said.

He opened The Old Ways on June 6 at 170 Pembroke Ave. in Wabasha. It seats about 35. With 10 on staff, he serves lunch as well as dinner on Fridays and Saturdays and a Sunday brunch.

Expect dishes like pastrami sandwiches alongside grilled shiitake mushrooms and vegetarian spinach pie

Wabasha + new restaurant

A new eatery opened in early June in Wabasha. It is called The Old Ways and the chef is Chad Rielander, the former executive sous chef at Nosh.

This is the upscale place – remember Vinifera? - to opened recently in Wabasha. I'll have more on The Old Ways soon.

Wabasha + new wine bar and restaurant

Look for a new wine bar and restaurant to pop its cork in Wabasha very soon.

This operation is moving into the space left empty by the departure of Nosh about a year ago.

Now the bottle is open. After I've let this news breath a bit, I'll pour out the rest.

New Wabasha biz = ?

Here's the followup to my earlier tease about a new project coming to Wabasha, Sorry, Ryan. It is not a brewery. And Chad, it is not Pure Pleasure:

Plans are underway for construction of a 17,000-square-foot restaurant, bar and banquet hall in Wabasha.

Ground should be broken for the Double G Ranch House before the end of the year, says general manager Peter Kay. It will be located along Highway 61 by AmericInn.

It is estimated that construction will take about a year.

Why Wabasha?

“We studied the market and found that Wabasha is woefully overlooked by most people,” Kay said. “We think our concept will appeal to people throughout the region.”

He describes the food as “American fare with country flavor.”

Look for a large charcoal grill in front of the dining room, but it will not be a do-it-yourself deal.

“We do the cooking,” said Kay.

Wabasha project brewing

There's an interesting project – a large one – brewing in Wabasha.

I should have something on this for Monday's print column.

Hiawatha Broadband + 1st dividend

This strikes me as interesting.

Winona-based Hiawatha Broadband Communications Inc. announced Friday that it is is issuing the first dividend in its 10 year history.

It is a half-cent per share dividend to be paid Aug. 20.

HBC offers cable television, video production, Internet and telephone services in Winona, St. Charles and Wabasha. It is privately held with 24.6 million shares of stock being held.

Bob Kierlin, the founder of Fastenal and long-time state lawmaker, is the chairman of its board.

I'll have more on this soon.

New Wabasha restaurant open

Here's the followup on Frank's recent tip:

The new Wabasha eatery is Stacy's Kitchen. It is owned by Chef Stacy Schuth. It opened in Friday at 116 E. Main St. in Wabasha.

I'll have more in print Monday. Thanks again for the tip, Frank.