Maybe itโs the pandemic, or maybe itโs the natural end result of the fast-casual boom, but it just seems like there are fewer and fewer places where you can get a nice lunch in this town.
Thatโs been particularly frustrating to Alex Althoff, Sarah Julson, and Nat Moser. The three longtime Travailiansโchef Moser and creative director Julson worked on assorted Travail Kitchen & Amusements projects for about eight years apiece, executive pastry chef Althoff for fourโjust donโt see the same hospitality you get at dinner service applied to daytime meals.
โWe feel like thereโs something missing here in the Twin Cities,โ Althoff says. โI canโt find anywhere to go to brunch. Iโm like, โIโll just cook an egg sandwich at home. Drink a beer.'โ
Althoff and Moser are married, and their favorite meals are shared when they have a day off together: waking up, getting ready, doing chores, and then going out to eat lunch together. So soon, along with Julson, theyโll take matters into their own hands with Dahlia.
โItโs going to be very daytime-oriented, so breakfast and lunch, heavy pastry program,โ Julson says. โWe love savory foods and rich foods, so thatโs kind of where our menu is headed.โ You can for sure expect the lovely, hand-rolled, sourdough croissants Althoff spent two and a half years perfecting during her time at St. Genevieve, pictured above.
โI think breakfast and lunch especially are thought to be really light mealsโฆ and not that heavyโs the right word, but we want it to be much more bold,โ Julson says. You can get a sense for whatโs to come from their branding, which makes a bright and splashy statementโโless of that soft patisserie tradition.โ
Dahlia will be a space where people can stick around as long as they want, like a coffee shop thatโs also a full-service restaurant. โNot like traditional restaurants, where youโre turning the tables fast and getting as many people in as possible just to pay the bills,โ Moser says. To sustain that laid-back energy, Dahlia will also offer catering and wholesale pastries.
And for now, thatโs where theyโre starting: with a series of pop-ups and catering as they make plans for their future restaurant.
As for the name Dahlia? โDahlias are the best flowers on the entire planet,โ Althoff says. She has a dahlia tattoo, and her garden dahlias are a point of pride (and frequent subject on her personal Instagram). Theyโre beautiful and hardy, and symbolize commitment and kindnessโtheir steadfastness captures perfectly what the Dahlia trio want for their restaurant.
Speaking of Instagram, thatโs the best way to follow along with their journey for now. Itโs where theyโll be announcing more info about their first pop-ups and do more giveaways, like the cake contest theyโre running now. Itโs also where youโll find early info about their forthcoming Thanksgiving dropโwithout giving too much away, it might have a little something in common with the popular family meals theyโve prepared at Travail these last few years.
Rather than trying to do too much too soon, Althoff, Moser, and Julson want to approach Dahlia in a way that feels scalable and sustainable, really emphasizing work-life balance in a way that the industryโฆ just hasnโt, for all the talk there was about it during the pandemic.
โWe want to leave a footprint on the industry altogether as far as the way we run the business,โ Moser says. โThatโs the biggest reason why we want to start small.โ Sure, they could take out a big loan right off the bat to start building their dream restaurant, but โwe want to start slow, and, if it makes sense, keep going.โ
If all goes wellโand with these three industry vets at the helm, we imagine it willโthe future Dahlia restaurant wonโt be far off, bringing the Twin Cities a place to โcelebrate the opportunity of the day, eat lots of good food, have a drink or two, a cup of coffee, and then continue about your day,โ Althoff says.