The Tavern on the Grand is closing its doors — but not without one last fish fry. Known for its walleye-centric menu, St. Paul restaurant more than two million fillets in the past 35 years.
“Lent is our Super Bowl. We are preparing all of our staff to put their game face on. Any day can be chaos in the best possible way,” said Eric LeMay, co-manager of Tavern at the Grand. LeMay runs the restaurant with his sister Tara Padilla and stepfather Dan Ryan.
Tara Padilla (left) and her brother Eric LeMay manage Tavern on the Grand in St. Paul.
Tom Cran | MPR news
Each year the restaurant sells about 15 tons of walleye. In normal years, Fridays during Lent are their busiest days. But this was no ordinary year. Since announcing their closure in July, business has been brisk.
“It absolutely blew the doors off,” LeMay said. “For the community to come back to us and show their love. You know, I was told that what we built was real.”
The Tavern on the Grand has become such a well-known Minnesota icon that former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev ate there when he visited Minnesota in the 1990s. However, LeMay and Padilla said the absence of their mother, Mary, who passed away in January 2023, has been difficult for them.
Tavern on the Grand prepares their walleye three different ways: fried, grilled and blackened.
Tom Cran | MPR news
“He gave a lot of life to this place. Our stepdad started it in 1990. And he passed in 2002. And mom kept it going longer than him,” Padilla said. “He was five- foot-two and a force to be reckoned with.”
“In the restaurant industry, the only dawn is yesterday, because it’s over,” LeMay said.
Now, LeMay and Padilla are ready to say goodbye to the restaurant known for the biggest and brightest walleye in the state. They will be closing in June.
The Tavern on the Grand is celebrating with one last fish frey.
Tom Cran | MPR news.
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