"What passed code back in the 1980s does not pass code in 2026," Edina Economic Development Manager Bill Neuendorf told the city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority in August, as reported by the Sun Current. He was talking about a kitchen on West 50th Street. The line also sums up what has changed at 50th & France this fall. The signs out front are new. Behind them, the openings have meant ramps, ceilings, wiring and plumbing that nobody walking by will see.
The holiday calendar starts the first weekend of November. Here's what has opened, what is still behind paper, and what the rebuilt rooms tell you about the next stretch of the corner.
The Sports Bar That Started Below the Floor
General Sports Bar opened Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 5034 France Ave. S., in the space Salut Bar Américain used to hold. Bring Me The News reported the date ahead of time, and the Star Tribune's openings roundup later confirmed it. It comes from Marty Collins and Brett Johnson, Edina natives who are part of the ownership group behind NOLO's Kitchen, The Rooftop Bar and The Basement Bar in the North Loop.
The Sun Current's account of the August HRA meeting shows where the money went. The owners turned the lower level, which used to be storage, into customer space for private parties, with a golf simulator and other games. That meant adding an ADA ramp. Neuendorf described the decades-old patio as "all wobbly" and no longer up to ADA standards. The rear loading dock, with its narrow walkway and uneven steps, was set to become a ramp.
The total investment was about $1 million. Only $38,000 of the work qualified for the city's SPARC grant, and the HRA awarded $24,000 of it on Aug. 13. Neuendorf called it "a pretty small grant" and said that without it "these little fixes would not happen," adding that the owners were already over budget and wanted the building "set for the next generation."
A Coffee Shop Rebuilding a Kitchen First
The same meeting awarded a second $24,000 grant, this one to Smith Coffee & Cafe at 3948 W. 50th St., the former D'Amico space. D'Amico closed when its lease ended in March. Alex and Ann Schuster, who have run the Eden Prairie Smith since 2006, took the space.
The plan is about 90 chairs inside plus a patio, open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day for breakfast and lunch. Before any of that, the kitchen had to be redone. The old ceilings had to come out and be rebuilt, and most of the kitchen's electrical and plumbing needed replacing. Neuendorf said none of that was in the original budget. Of roughly $400,000 spent on construction at that point, about $30,000 counted as eligible work.
"The customer probably won't even notice it," Neuendorf said, "but they won't be allowed to open without it."
The Schusters had hoped to open in October. As of mid-October, Smith's Edina page still read "Coming Fall 2026," and the Star Tribune's Oct. 5 roundup still listed it as coming soon. If you've watched a code-driven kitchen rebuild before, a few weeks of slip won't surprise you.
One Restaurant Group, Doors on Both Sides of the City Line
The busiest operator at the corner right now is Daniel del Prado's DDP Restaurant Group. Its addresses also show something people who live here already know but out-of-towners rarely do. 50th & France sits on both sides of the Edina–Minneapolis line, and the group's spots carry addresses from both cities.
| Spot | What it is | Address as listed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter's | DDP restaurant | 3717 W. 50th St., Minneapolis | Open |
| The Side Door at Dexter's | Mini food hall: Lucia's, DaqDaq, Rose Sushi | Minneapolis address; listings differ between 3717 W. 50th St. and 5005 Ewing Ave. S. | Open |
| Thérèse | DDP restaurant | 3945 Market St., Edina | Open |
| Noma Hi-Fi Bar | DDP bar | West 50th Street, Edina | Open |
| Americana | Burnet and del Prado partnership | 5036 France Ave. S., Edina | Listed as coming by fall 2026 |
The Side Door also took over an existing space. Lucia's pizza and salad counter opened first. DaqDaq Korean Fried Chicken and Rose Sushi followed on Sept. 17 in what used to be SotaRol, according to Bring Me The News. DaqDaq serves Korean fried chicken and noodle dishes, and Rose Sushi focuses on nigiri and rolls.
Americana is the one people are waiting on. Cocina del Barrio closed Oct. 1, 2025, to make room for it. The Star Tribune reported then that Barrio owner Ryan Burnet and del Prado were partnering on a redesign with a glass-enclosed rooftop patio. The paper's Oct. 5 roundup still gives the timing as "by fall 2026." Americana sits next door to General Sports Bar. Once it opens, two neighboring France Avenue storefronts will both have been rebuilt within about a year.
The Contrast Across France Avenue
Farther south on France Avenue at Southdale Center, a new restaurant took the opposite route. Smithson is a steak-and-seafood room from Randy and Sharon Stanley, who also run Baldamar in Roseville and 6Smith in Wayzata. It went into Suite 2160, which the Star Tribune describes as part of a newly built addition, so there was no old tenant's kitchen to fix. Its grand opening was set for Saturday, Oct. 17. The Star Tribune lists hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, with weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations go through OpenTable from Smithson's site.
At Southdale, a restaurant can be built from scratch. At 50th & France, nearly every opening this fall came with an older building that had to be brought up to current code first.
Why the Grant Ending Matters for the Next Storefront
That brings it back to the HRA meeting. Neuendorf told the board the SPARC program ends at the end of the year, so "this might be the last time we talk about SPARC."
The amounts were small next to total budgets: $24,000 against about $1 million at General Sports Bar, and $24,000 against roughly $400,000 at Smith. Neuendorf's own framing was that the grant got the unplanned code and accessibility work done instead of skipped. "They could probably get away with it," he said of the sports bar's patio and ramp work, but the city wanted the building "ready for another 20 years." These two buildings now have that work done. Whoever takes the next older storefront on the corner will open after SPARC is gone.
The Calendar These Rooms Open Into
The 50th & France district has posted its holiday dates. The rebuilt rooms will be part of the first season for most of them:
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Holiday fashion brunch at Mr. Paul's Supper Club. The event page lists it as sold out.
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 to 8 p.m. Shop by Candlelight, with participating shops, caroling, cider and cookies.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 5 p.m. The annual tree lighting, with caroling, sleigh rides, Santa and The Mistletones.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Menorah lighting.
Shop by Candlelight is the first evening of the season where General Sports Bar, the Side Door's three counters and Thérèse and Noma Hi-Fi on the Edina side will all be serving the same crowd. Whether Smith or Americana is open by then depends on how their unseen work goes.
If you own one of the older homes around 50th & France, the building stories here may sound familiar. A space that looks move-in ready can turn out to need ceilings, wiring and plumbing redone before anyone opens the doors. When you want to talk about what that means for your own house, Smitten Real Estate Group knows these blocks well. Let's Connect.
