A May opening is planned for the 24 x 20-foot second story addition to the The Crooked Spoon. Below, the same amount of space was added that has almost tripled the kitchen, prep and storage space, giving chef Nate Hingos more room to prepare his delicious dishes. Up above, it’s wooden studs and pink insulation now, but soon the space will be finished and offer beautiful harbor views as owner Sara Hingos displays.
17 West Wisconsin Street in Grand Marais is a great place to go for lunch or supper; to get a fine glass of wine, an import beer or even a nice dessert, but due to its relatively limited seating and great reputation as a fine eatery, sometimes there is a wait for a table.
Some of that wait will be alleviated with the renovation under way. Owners Sara and Nathan “Nate” Hingos are adding on to The Crooked Spoon Café, which locally is often referred to simply as “The Spoon.”
The couple is building a 24 x 20-foot first floor room that will greatly increase kitchen space. A second story above will be a customer waiting area that will feature a small beer and wine bar and offer appetizers, said Sara.
Both spaces are important, she said.
“The new space behind the restaurant just about tripled our kitchen. We have added room for prepping and storage and we put in a small bathroom. We now have room to move about and there will be less shuffling things back and forth. It will also allow us to do onsite catering.
“Upstairs there will be a waiting area for people to go for drinks and appetizers. We have put in a wall of windows that can be opened if the weather permits that offer great views of the harbor. Live music is also something we’re thinking of occasionally offering. We will have a small bar up there and maybe someday will offer a ‘cold menu.’ That’s still undecided.
“The upstairs will also be heated if need be, so it will be available to use year round although we don’t know if we will have it open throughout the year. We’ll just wait and see if the business warrants that. We want to keep the hours upstairs the same as the restaurant, so it won’t be a late night place to go.”
The Hingoses spent three years discussing and thinking about the addition. “We had a lot of backand forth before we finally decided on this plan,” Sara said with a smile.
The biggest question on people’s minds right now, said Sara, is, “How do we get upstairs?”
“We get asked that a lot. We are making a breeze way between our building and The Attic that will lead to the upstairs.”
Local contractors have done all of the work, said Sara, and have done a great job. “Our neighbors have also been great. They have put up with a lot of pounding and people parking in weird places, but so far no one has complained.”
Nate Hingos is from upstate New York, and Sara is from southeastern Minnesota. The couple met at Northland College in 1994, moving to Georgia for a time before deciding to make Grand Marais their home.
In 2006 Nate and Sara purchased the former bus stop/restaurant building from Jim and Jackie Larsen, gutting it and turning it into a posh but comfortable café with a warm welcome for all who come through its doors.
The Crooked Spoon features contemporary American cuisine with owner/chef Nate’s deliciously creative spin on a variety of traditional dishes: lamb meatballs, French onion soup, salmon soup, bacon, lettuce, tomato (BLT) sandwiches made with ciabatta bread stacked with honey and black pepper glazed bacon, tomatoes, leaf lettuce, and balsamic vinegar. A local favorite is the Minnesota free-range turkey breast, goat cheese, spicy honey mustard, leaf lettuce, tomato, red onion and ciabatta sandwich served with rosemary popcorn or dill pickle potato chips (or substitute spicy Napa cabbage or oven roasted potato wedges for a small price).
Nate loves to cook and spends much of his free time thinking about innovative ways to prepare new dishes for his customers.
Sara takes care of the front of the house and paperwork while Nathan creates and cooks meals, entrees, and desserts. While Nate’s cooking draws rave reviews, he has long insisted it would be uphill sledding if not for his wife’s ability to take care of the business side of the restaurant.
The hard working couple has two children, Keenan and Shaelyn, both attend Great Expectations School where Sara is the 2015 president of the school board.
“We will have the upstairs open in May, if not sooner,” said Sara.
As for Nate, he was too busy prepping for lunch to talk. He moved about the kitchen quickly, surrounded by the rich smell of black pepper glazed bacon frying, French onion soup simmering, vegetables stewing, sauces bubbling, and mussels steaming. Spicy slaw and pickled red onions sat patiently while tomatoes and cucumbers thin sliced by his quick knife were waiting for a customer’s order. It smelled and looked like Nate was preparing for another great lunch at the Crooked Spoon.
Good thing he and Sara are putting in a beautiful area in which to wait so no one will have to miss it.
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