One Restaurant Group Now Sets Much of the Table at 50th & France

If you live in Edina's Country Club District and walk to 50th & France for dinner, there's a good chance the kitchen is run by Daniel del Prado's restaurant group. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, his group runs Dexter's and the new food hall next door. It runs Thérèse in the old Lynhall space and Noma Hi-Fi Bar close by. It's also partnering on Americana, which will replace Cocina del Barrio on France Avenue. Thérèse, the food hall and the Americana project all came in the last thirteen months. Between Halloween and the menorah lighting in December, the district's sidewalk calendar is the first full holiday stretch where that lineup is nearly complete.

That consolidation is the main thing that changed at 50th & France this year. Other businesses also opened, closed and moved during the same months, and they matter more once you see how much of the dining side now sits under one operator.

The del Prado Rooms, Block by Block

The Minnesota Star Tribune first sketched the plan in September 2025. It reported that Cocina del Barrio would close Oct. 1 after 15 years and that del Prado was planning three restaurants in the 50th & France neighborhood. One was Americana. Another was a takeover of Lynhall's Edina location. The third was a smaller project at an address not yet disclosed. Thérèse is now open in the old Lynhall, and Americana is still on its way.

Taken together, those rooms cover a wide range of meals. The Star Tribune's restaurant roll call describes the Side Door as three counters under one roof. Daq Daq serves Korean fried chicken and noodle dishes, Rose Sushi focuses on nigiri and rolls, and Lucia's makes pizza and salad. Thérèse is a French brasserie. Americana is planned as an American restaurant with a glass-enclosed rooftop patio designed by Christian Dean Architecture.

Some background explains how Americana came together. Barrio owner Ryan Burnet and del Prado have worked together for years. Burnet was part of the opening ownership at Burch Steak when del Prado ran its kitchen, and the two later opened Porzana and Minari in Minneapolis. Americana makes it their third restaurant together, this time in a France Avenue space where one restaurant ran for 15 years.

The Storefronts Moving on Their Own

The rest of the year's changes came from independent operators, and several of them draw on 50th & France's own past.

General Sports Bar opened Sept. 8 at 5034 France Ave. S., in the former Salut Bar Americain space. Marty Collins and Brett Johnson, the team behind NOLO's Kitchen in Minneapolis, run it. Bring Me The News reported that the name honors General Sports, the longtime Edina hockey equipment shop, and that hockey is at the center of what plays on the screens. Collins described the feel to the outlet in words that land differently for a Country Club District reader:

"Country club vibe without the country club fees."

When the bar was announced in March, the plans called for 25 TVs, seating for 140, pull tabs, a dog-friendly patio and a golf simulator room for rent on the basement level. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. It sits right next door to 5036 France, the future Americana, so two neighboring storefronts are changing at the same time.

MeatEater opened its Minnesota retail store at 3924 W. 50th St. on Aug. 15. The Sun Current reported that it sells outdoor gear, apparel, books, games and food products.

Smith Coffee & Cafe is taking over 3948 W. 50th St. D'Amico & Sons closed there when its lease ended March 28. EP Local News reported in April that this will be Smith's second location. The Smith Coffee site still says "Coming Fall 2026" for Edina, with no opening day posted.

Senti, the Nolan Mains boutique, signed for the former Faribault Mill space next door, adding 1,436 square feet. Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reported that owner Jen Knoch was aiming to debut the larger shop in mid-to-late October, so it may open any day now.

This is where the del Prado concentration shows. The independent changes this year were mostly retail, coffee and a sports bar. Most of the new places for a sit-down dinner belong to one group.

The Calendar That Puts the New Lineup to Work

The holiday events themselves are steady from year to year. The 50th & France business association runs a fall and winter schedule that comes back every season. What's new in 2026 is who lines the sidewalks during those events. Here's how the season lines up from the week this post goes up, with notes on which changed storefronts sit closest to each event.

1. Twin Cities Film Fest, through Oct. 24, Edina Theatre. The festival runs Oct. 15 to 24, so its final weekend is the first busy weekend the Side Door's three counters get with all of them open.
2. Diwali Celebration, Friday, Oct. 23, 6 to 8 p.m., Nolan Mains Plaza. This is the Edina Asian American Alliance's third annual celebration. It takes place in the same plaza where Senti is expanding.
3. Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. The day starts with $5 movies at Edina Theatre: "Hotel Transylvania" at 9:30 a.m. and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" at 10:30 a.m. Trick-or-Treat at 50th & France runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the Halloween Dog Parade follows from 1 to 2 p.m. outside Chuck & Don's.
4. Holiday Fashion Brunch, Nov. 7, Mr. Paul's Supper Club. It's already sold out.
5. Shop by Candlelight Night, Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 to 8 p.m. Participating shops stay open late with holiday gifts, caroling, cider and cookies. It will be MeatEater's first holiday season on 50th Street, and Senti's first if its expansion opens on schedule.
6. Tree Lighting and Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28, 3 to 6 p.m. Edina Magazine lists the tree lighting at 5 p.m., along with caroling, sleigh rides, Santa and The Mistletones.
7. Menorah Lighting, Sunday, Dec. 6, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., 3924 W. 50th St. The event listing promises music, cocoa and cookies, at the same address as the new MeatEater store.

Halloween shows the new map most clearly. The dog parade outside Chuck & Don's happens the same fall that a sports bar with a dog-friendly patio opened on France Avenue. After the 11 a.m. trick-or-treat, families looking for lunch now have a three-counter food hall on the Minneapolis side of 50th Street that didn't exist last October.

What Is Still Behind Paper

Two of the biggest pieces are still unfinished as November approaches. Americana is still listed under "Announced - Coming Soon" in the Star Tribune's Oct. 5 roll call, with only "By fall 2026" for timing. Smith Coffee is also in the coming-soon section of that list.

Those two storefronts matter for the season ahead. Americana takes the France Avenue space that Cocina del Barrio held for 15 years, and it comes with a glass-enclosed rooftop patio. Smith takes the 50th Street room that D'Amico & Sons left in March. If Americana opens before the Nov. 28 tree lighting, del Prado's group will have five rooms running when Santa arrives at 5 p.m. If it doesn't, 5036 France Ave. S. will still be in the middle of its remodel that evening, right next door to General Sports Bar.

When this many storefronts change hands in a year, Country Club District owners naturally wonder what's moving on the commercial side of their neighborhood. If you'd like a read on how 50th & France's changes fit with your own plans, Doro Real Estate follows that corner the same way we follow the rest of the Twin Cities. Start your concierge consultation, and we'll walk the district with you.