Nadia Cakes in Woodbury. (Courtesy of Travis Anderson)

David Shea, founder of Shea Inc. design firm in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of Shea)

Octo Fishbar in St. Pauls Lowertown. (Courtesy of Adam Kennedy Photography)

Butcher and the Boar in downtown Minneapolis. (Courtesy of Shea)

Brasa Rotisserie in St. Paul.(Courtesy of Shea)



Barrio in St. Paul. (Courtesy of Shea)

Seventh Street Truck Park in St. Paul. (Courtesy of TJ Turner Pictures)

Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis North Loop. (Courtesy of Travis Anderson)

The oyster bar at Meritage in downtown St. Paul. (Courtesy of Meritage)

New Bohemia on West Seventh in St. Paul. (Courtesy of Wing Ta)



Mercy Bar and Dining Room in downtown Minneapolis. (Courtesy Bethany Catharine)

Shea Inc., the Twin Cities architect and interior design firm, has been creating bold, distinct restaurant spaces in St. Paul and beyond for the past 40 years.

It is responsible for 350 restaurants across the country, including more than 50 dining spots locally, such as Meritage Oyster Bar, Markethouse Collaborative and Octo Fishbar, M Street Cafe, Seventh Street Truck Park and Brasa, all in St. Paul, as well as Nadia Cakes in Woodbury, to name a few. And there are more major restaurant projects to come, including Union Depot Bar & Grill in the Union Depot in downtown St. Paul.

“It’s fun for me. One of our first clients was in St. Paul doing Leeann Chin’s in the Union Depot 30-plus years ago,” said founder David Shea. “And now we’re going back and doing a restaurant in the middle area of Union Depot.”

To celebrate the firm’s (sheadesign.com) 40th anniversary, we talked to Shea about how restaurant design has changed, some of the more memorable dining spaces his firm has created in the east metro and new projects in St. Paul.

On the evolution of restaurant design: Breaking down the wall and open kitchens — I think it’s the biggest thing that’s happened in the dining industry. In the beginning, you had a door swinging in and out. Food would be brought out by the service staff. Kitchens used to be hidden. Restaurants had not been displaying the art of preparing food. The experience starts when the people come into the space. You want to be engaged with the whole experience of how the food is prepared. There’s a level of animation that comes from cooking that is fun.

The story behind some east metro dining spaces:

Brasa on Grand Avenue in St. Paul: Here you’re talking about a restaurant where small is good. You bring in Grand Avenue with things like garage doors. You bring chef/owner Alex Roberts’ personality into the design and his want of “you’re welcome into my house” sort of thing. He’s one of the first ones to do a tiny, tiny kitchen. For me design is about collaboration with great chefs like that.

Here you’re talking about a restaurant where small is good. You bring in Grand Avenue with things like garage doors. You bring chef/owner Alex Roberts’ personality into the design and his want of “you’re welcome into my house” sort of thing. He’s one of the first ones to do a tiny, tiny kitchen. For me design is about collaboration with great chefs like that. Markethouse Collaborative and Octo Fishbar in St. Paul’s Lowertown: Chef/owner Tim McKee had a vision of a seafood restaurant with sustainable fish and a farmers’ market. He loved the idea of collaborative. I’m from Boston originally and grew up with fish markets and a market culture. Then the idea came that those who visit the collaborative could buy fish or meat from the market there and have it sent over to the restaurant and have someone cook it for you. It’s an experience of relating and connecting to your food.

Chef/owner Tim McKee had a vision of a seafood restaurant with sustainable fish and a farmers’ market. He loved the idea of collaborative. I’m from Boston originally and grew up with fish markets and a market culture. Then the idea came that those who visit the collaborative could buy fish or meat from the market there and have it sent over to the restaurant and have someone cook it for you. It’s an experience of relating and connecting to your food. Oyster Bar at Meritage in downtown St. Paul: Chef/owner Russell Klein has spent time at oyster farms in Massachusetts and Washington state. He totally embraced building an oyster bar while the design of the space ties ours and their travels around the world.

Chef/owner Russell Klein has spent time at oyster farms in Massachusetts and Washington state. He totally embraced building an oyster bar while the design of the space ties ours and their travels around the world. Nadia Cakes in Woodbury: How many times have I done pink? Not a lot. When you walk into the design of that one, it is like walking into owner Abby Jimenez’s head. It’s an indulgence visually. She has an amazing passion and is a great baker. And she’s an extremely astute business person who works very had to make sure her products stand out in a creative way and that includes visually. She’s phenomenally opulent.

On new St. Paul projects: We’re working with pastry chef John Kraus for his second location of Rose Street Patisserie, which will be in St. Paul on Selby and Snelling avenues. The aesthetic there will be a clean look. We’re working on the Sweet Science ice cream space coming to Keg & Case Market. We’re working on Union Depot Bar & Grill at Union Depot in downtown St. Paul. We want to make that space come alive for special events and that includes doing something special with the mezzanine. Also, “We’re trying to create something for the next generation of train travelers,” Shea said. “It’s a grand, grand space. We want to have your central court area, like the Piazza San Marco in Venice.”