I waited until after 11 a.m. to smash "publish" on this blog post in order to truthfully type out the following: Boludo's brand-new south Minneapolis location is... now open!
In 2018, chef/owner Facundo DeFraia opened Boludo in a teeny-tiny, takeout-focused space in Minneapolis's Kingfield neighborhood (3749 Nicollet Ave. S.). A second and much larger outpost of his popular Argentinian eatery opened in downtown Minneapolis (530 S 4th St.) in early 2021.
But that original pint-sized pizza and empanada shop, nestled between Nighthawks Diner + Bar and Finer Meats on Nicollet Avenue, was really too small almost from the start. Wait times of two or more hours aren't uncommon—not that the delays deter faithful fans of the diamond-shaped pizzas and hefty empanadas that emerge from Boludo's compact kitchen.
That changes today. Moving from their former home to 8 W. 38th St., just across the street (roughly 100 paces apart, per this lanky reporter's estimation), gives DeFraia and co. a little more room to breathe. With 1,000 more square feet to play with, Boludo 2.0 now has sit-down service for more than 20 people, along with a custom kitchen that will allow for increased experimentation, according to the Star Tribune. At the new address, you can expect that you might see some menu items you haven't before, and you can definitely expect a full bar.
According to a Monday Facebook post from Boludo, the new location (dubbed "El 38") is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Looks like it'll have the same hours daily from Tuesday - Sunday. You can find the menu here.
In other recent pizza news, Wrecktangle Pizza's third location at Lyn-Lake opened last week. (A rainy day leak meant they had to postpone the grand opening from 4:20 on April 20 to 4:21 on April 21.) You can check out our sneak peek here; they've got smoked meats and a big ol' bar now!
Over in St. Paul, Mario's got up and running this weekend after a short delay of their own; check out our preview here.
