Looks like Colossal Cafe is taking its cue from Cupcake. Hopefully, this time the outcome will be sweeter.

Elizabeth Tinucci and her father, John Tinucci, owners of the 15-seat Colossal Cafe in South Minneapolis, opened a larger branch in St. Paul’s St. Anthony Park in December. The new spot serves the same homey breakfast and lunch menu – everything from cinnamon rolls and pancakes to chicken potpies and roast pork sandwiches.

Business is now running smoothly and the Tinuccis would like to open for dinner and serve beer and wine. But like Cupcake’s recent attempt to branch out to Grand Avenue in St. Paul and open a wine bar along with a cupcake shop, Colossal Cafe also doesn’t have the required parking necessary to serve beer and wine. The city has to either approve a shared parking arrangement or allow a parking variance for 13 off-street spaces.

Cupcake never got its parking variance. The Summit Hill Association and a neighboring Grand Avenue business, the law firm of McCly-Alton, filed separate appeals, and the St. Paul City Council eventually shot down Cupcake’s plan with a vote of 5-2. One of those voting against it was council member Dave Thune, who represents the part of Grand Avenue where Cupcake was to be located.

But John Tinucci is optimistic about his 50-seat restaurant. “We’re not Grand Avenue,” he says. “Businesses and people in our neighborhood have been supportive and encouraging.”

Some of those, he says, include city council member Russ Stark; Jon Schumacher, executive director of the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation; and Park Midway Bank, kitty-corner to Colossal, which has given the restaurant permission to use its parking spaces during off hours. “Now, we have to satisfy the city,” Tinucci says. “We just want to make a living, sell some food and have some fun.”

SUNNY FUTURE

Angelo Montes is saying “Ciao” to his longtime bosses at Chianti Grill in Roseville, Porterhouse in Little Canada and Stout’s Pub Falcon Heights. In July, the chef is opening his own place, Sole Mio in Woodbury.

But before it happens, the former Mi Familia space (and La Cucaracha before that) at Valley Creek Mall will get a $1 million renovation, complete with windows that open, a 40-seat bar, fireplace and outdoor patio.

“You won’t even recognize the place,” Montes say.

Montes plans to offer a mix of dishes from North and South Italy – steaks, seafood, pasta, risotto and pizza. To appeal to the lunch crowd, there will be a daily special.

Since Montes moved from Milan, Italy, to Woodbury 12 years ago, his dream has been to open a restaurant in his new hometown. “This is my community, and I will do everything I can to support it,” Montes says. “And with my Italian charm, I will give everyone a good time.”

RESURRECTION

Little Tijuana is in for some big changes.

The longtime Mexican-American restaurant in Minneapolis is expected to reopen in three months with a completely remodeled space, new bar and full liquor license. The menu will stay the same.

For years, Little Tijuana has been the place to go for greasy combo plates after the bars close. But in December 2010, the restaurant on 26th Street between Nicollet and First Avenue South was forced to close because of snow and ice damage to the roof.

Eventually, business partners Steve Wagner and Deborah Dickson got the go-ahead from their insurance company to fix the damage, which amounted to $173,000. Then, the contractor ran into structural problems in the kitchen, and the insurance company approved those changes for another $118,000.

The contractor started the work on the kitchen, and about two months later, Wagner says, the insurance company brought in a new adjustor. He looked the job over, then sent Wagner an email saying the insurance company “misread the policy” and that the additional $118,000 wouldn’t be paid out after all.

Wagner, who grew up in the restaurant business (his father owned the former Rocco’s Restaurant on St. Paul’s East Side), went to his bank of 12 years for the additional $118,000. Wagner says even though he owes only $30,000 on the building, the bank turned him down.

“They told me they were only doing loans for $1 million or more,” Wagner says. “But they let me wait 10 weeks to tell me that. And they gave me the bad news the Friday before Christmas.”

Eventually, he found a banker willing to give him a loan.

“All of a sudden the pressure was off,” Wagner says. “I’ve been using my retirement (money) to hang on here. Now, we’re just looking forward to getting the work done and getting this place open. We have to do this, it’s all we know.”

CAN YOU SAY TAVERN GRILL?

Finally, a name that’s easy to pronounce. Tavern Grill will open in June in the former Aperitif in Woodbury. The owner is Hemisphere Restaurant Partners, which also runs Tavern Grills in Edina and Blaine as well as Flame in Roseville and Mission American Kitchen and Atlas, both in downtown Minneapolis.

Specializing in build-your-own burgers, Tavern also turns out the de rigueur menu of pizza, pasta, steaks and seafood. Like the other locations, this one will be family-friendly and affordable.

Aperitif, at Interstate 494 and Tamarack Road, closed in February 2011, a casualty of the bankruptcy of prominent St. Paul developer Jerry Trooien.

With its long bar, large open kitchen and outdoor patio, the space fits well with the Tavern concept.

“No cost was spared,” Ansari says. “There are even terrazzo floors in the coolers. All we’ll have to do is ‘Tavernize’ it a bit.”

AZIA AGAIN

They say you can never go home again. But don’t tell that to Thom Phan.

He is returning to his former Eat Street location at 26th and Nicollet in Minneapolis, which he closed in 2010. The hip Azia fusion restaurant is where Pham became famous for, of all things, cranberry cream cheese puffs.

The new restaurant will be called Azia Market Bar & Restaurant. Along with a fusion menu based on local, fresh fare like every other new restaurant in the Twin Cities, Azia Market also will have a raw seafood bar and trendy cocktails made with fresh squeezed juice.

Pham, who also owns Thanh Do in St. Louis Park, couldn’t be reached for comment. Pham closed Azia in 2010 and opened Wondrous Azian Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis.

AND THE WINNER IS …

Results are in from the annual taste of chocolate competition sponsored by Bloomington Fine Arts Council.

Top honors for chocolate dessert went to Janan Juliff of Cake Diva of St. Paul for her “year of the dragon” layered torte with chai and dark chocolate buttercreams, milk chocolate praline and five-spice chocolate ganache – all enrobed in a dark chocolate dragon.

The best chocolate confection award went to Robyn Dochterman, owner of St. Croix Chocolate Company in Marine on St. Croix, for “hand-crafted, painted and interesting and unexpected taste-combination chocolates.”

Columbia Heights-based Kevin Lindee of Ganache: Truffles for Every Occasion won the People’s Choice award for papaya and mango white chocolate truffle infused with black pepper and coated in bittersweet chocolate.

CHEF HONORS

Congratulations to Lenny Russo of Heartland in St. Paul who was nominated for a James Beard award.

Others nominees in the Best Chef: Midwest category are Justin Aprahamian (Sanford, Milwaukee); Gerard Craft (Niche, St. Louis); Colby Garrelts (Bluestem, Kansas City); and Tory Miller (L’Etoile, Madison). Winners will be announced May 7.

CELEBRITY BREW

Lizard-tongued KISS bassist Gene Simmons plans to open Rock & Brews next month in El Segundo, Calif., a beach community south of Los Angeles International Airport. Besides a state-of-the-art draft system with 40 craft beers, there will be pizza, burgers and multiple large-screen televisions that continuously broadcast concert videos. “Aggressive” plans for worldwide expansion are to begin next year. Maybe Simmons will scout locations here when KISS comes to perform at the Minnesota State Fair in August.

Restaurant critic Kathie Jenkins can be reached at 651-228-5585 or kjenkins@pioneerpress.com. Follow her at twitter.com/â€‹ â€‹JenkinsCritic.