Chef Landon Schoenefeld is a major name in the Twin Cities food world.

So when he told Dara Moskowitz Grumdhal of Minneapolis-Saint Paul magazine that he was leaving his restaurants Nighthawks and Birdie, it was news.

It wasn't so much that he was leaving, but the reason for doing so: depression — so severe that at times it's driven him to the brink of suicide.

We sat down with Schoenefeld at Nighthawks in Minneapolis earlier this week before it opened for lunch.

Landon Schoenefeld at Nighthawks Diner and Bar in Minneapolis. Nikki Tundel | MPR News

At 10 a.m., he'd already been on the job for a couple of hours already and he had 11 more to go.

We talked about the pressures of owning and running his restaurants.

To hear the conversation, use the audio player above.