What's cooking at the old Bennett's restaurant site?
A new restaurant is moving in, and Thursday was the first day of construction.
Said general manager Philip Warmanen of the Midi Restaurant Superior Cuisine on Lake Superior, "A lot of work, we've got a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks."
Interior designer Heather Ann Larson said: "I think it's wonderful, there isn't a restaurant with the feeling that we're creating in Duluth."
Workers are remodeling and redecorating, hoping to reopen in the next three weeks. For owner Marie Schmidt, this day is a dream come true.
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Schmidt was born and raised in Germany, the only girl in a family of boys.
"Grew up there, had a great family, five brothers, big family and we had a restaurant, hotel and carpentry," Schmidt said. "My dad made furniture."
Schmidt said at her family restaurant everyone helped out. She was raised with a good strong work ethic, she said.
At age 15, she went off to start her own career.
"When I was 15 I started working, I started an apprenticeship in town in a hotel," Schmidt said.
Then she started to travel and learn more about her passion. "And from there I moved to Switzerland, Spain, England and France. So I just worked my way around hotels and restaurants."
She moved to the U.S. in 1981, and after years of hard work, she bought her own deli in Minneapolis. Eight years ago, she opened her own German restaurant in Hudson, Wis., called the Winzer Stube.
"That's kept me plenty busy until now, and then I thought, I need another restaurant," Schmidt said. "I want Mediterranean food."
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So she's starting a restaurant in Duluth with a European, Mediterranean feel.
Many of the recepies on the menu come from her travels -- "Continuing Mediterranean flavors, lots of olive oils, lots of olives, lemons, fresh herbs and seafood, pastas," she said.
She wants her restaurant to be a place for families, warm, friendly, classy and inviting.
Schmidt says she's dreamt of owning a restaurant in this location for the past 25 years.
"When I moved here, in this country, I came to Duluth to visit and ever since then I've been coming up here in the summers and when family visits, the first place I go is we have to go to Duluth," Schmidt said. "It's beautiful here, I love the lake, I Love, it's just that gorgeous. And so I always say, one day I'm going to be in Duluth, who knows and here we are."
She adds that, although the restaurant will be classy, patrons can expect a full plate of food, unlike many upscale restaurants which often serve small portions.
The Midi Restaurant, Superior Cuisine on Lake Superior, plans a "soft" opening on Nov. 12.
