Ever since the downtown Minneapolis Barnes & Noble anchoring RSM Plaza closed in April 2017, the prime corner at 8th St. and Nicollet Mall has remained vacant.

That will change next fall when 801 Chophouse takes over the storefront. The 11,180 square-foot-space will become the seventh location in the Midwest for the Denver-based chain, and the company’s largest, said co-owner Jamie Lynch.

“It’s a New-York-style steakhouse that we believe will stand the test of time, and we feel like this type of venue is underserved in the Minneapolis marketplace,” Lynch said. “There are a lot of one-offs, very interesting restaurants in the Minneapolis area. We are a commercial New-York-style steakhouse and have had a successful track record.”

The site’s proximity to the IDS Center and other office buildings and sporting venues is an advantage, Lynch said.

“I think that Minneapolis is really a blue chip city,” said Lynch, who lived in Minneapolis for more than a decade, but currently calls Denver home.

“It’s got sort of a dense, consistent, executive activity sort of reputation so you got a lot of executive entertainment occurring,” he said.

“You have a lot of terrific visitation from the surrounding areas. There’s a tremendous footprint of hotels in the area.”