Walk the block between Market Street and France Avenue this week and you'll pass at least three storefronts mid-renovation. That's not a coincidence of timing. It's the tail end of something that's been building for a year, and understanding it changes how you'll read every "coming soon" sign between now and Thanksgiving.
Cocina del Barrio closed its doors on October 1 last year after fifteen years on France Avenue. Salut Bar Americain is on its way out too. D'Amico & Sons already handed over its space. Three tenants, three storefronts, all turning over inside the same twelve-month stretch in a district that usually loses a restaurant or two a year, not a cluster of them at once.
A Block Losing Its Longtime Tenants All at Once
The math behind Cocina del Barrio's exit is worth sitting with. Owner Ryan Burnet had run the restaurant for fifteen years on margins he could only sustain because he owned the building outright. When the Star Tribune reported on the closure, Burnet said the pressure had been building for years, not overnight. He wasn't the only one feeling it. In the same conversation he pointed to Edina Grill's closure and Salut's likely departure as evidence of a wider squeeze on the block's longest-tenured restaurants.
"Having operated that restaurant now for 15 years, we've hit a glass ceiling, and it's not been overnight, it's been years... I feel their pain. I feel what they're going through."
If you're loyal to Barrio's queso, it isn't gone. The downtown Minneapolis location and the outpost at MSP Terminal 2 are staying open and will still honor gift cards bought at the Edina store.
In its place: Americana, a new restaurant from Burnet and chef Daniel del Prado, the same pairing behind Porzana and Minari in Minneapolis. The concept leans into post-World War II American style with what del Prado has described as a mix of Italian and Hawaiian tiki influence, the kind of look you'd associate with "Mad Men" rather than a strip-mall remodel. The build includes a glass-enclosed rooftop conservatory designed by Christian Dean Architecture, and it's currently projected to open sometime this fall.
Why One Chef Is Betting on the Same Intersection Three Times
Here's the detail that makes this more than a routine tenant swap. Americana isn't del Prado's only project at 50th & France. He's also taking over the former Lynhall space for a second, still-unnamed concept, and there's a third, smaller project at an address that hasn't been announced yet. That's three restaurants from one operator on one intersection, which is a concentrated bet, not a diversified one.
Del Prado explained his logic to Mpls.St.Paul Magazine when the Americana project was first announced: commercial leases in the district typically run ten years, sometimes with a five-year extension, and after that stretch a space needs what he called new blood, new energy. In his view, having several strong concepts clustered on the same corner doesn't dilute foot traffic, it multiplies it. He's not alone in that read. Mr. Paul's Supper Club, open since 2021 just off the same intersection, recently expanded its own footprint with Mothership Pizza Paradise and a new back bar called Carnival Bar, and Gavin Kaysen's full-service Bellecour Bakery has taken over on Market Street as well.
The Parking Math Behind the Renovation
None of this is happening without friction. Americana's expansion adds roughly 1,500 square feet to the old Cocina del Barrio building, which pushes the site's floor area ratio from 0.94 to 1.2. Edina's zoning code has required extra off-street parking once a property crosses a ratio of 1.0 since 1978, and the addition leaves the site fourteen stalls short of what the ordinance calls for.
Rather than stall the project, Burnet worked out a private parking agreement with the neighboring BMO Harris Bank, whose lot sits unused most evenings once the bank closes. City staff also confirmed the district's south parking ramp has room to absorb the overflow. The Edina City Council approved the variance on October 7 last year, and at least one councilmember used the hearing to argue publicly that the decades-old parking rule needs a second look given how the district has changed since it was written. Whether that rule gets revised or not, it's already shaping how every ambitious build-out at this intersection has to get creative to pencil out.
What's Actually Opening, and When
If you just want the rundown without the mechanics behind it, here's where things stand as of late summer 2026:
- Americana (5036 France Ave. S.) — replacing Cocina del Barrio, projected for a fall opening
- General Sports Bar (5034 France Ave. S.) — taking over the former Salut space, from the team behind Nolo's, aiming for a late-summer debut that puts it opening right around now
- Smith Coffee & Cafe (3948 W. 50th St.) — a second location for the Eden Prairie coffee shop, moving into the former D'Amico & Sons space, with a grand opening expected sometime this fall
- Smithson (Southdale Center) — a new steak and seafood concept from Sharon and Randy Stanley, the duo behind Baldamar and 6Smith, targeting a fall opening
The Part of the Calendar That Isn't Changing
For all the churn on the restaurant side, the district's actual traditions are running on schedule, which says something about what holds a shopping node together when its storefronts don't. The Edina Fall Into the Arts Festival returns to Centennial Lakes Park on September 12 and 13, organized by the Edina Chamber of Commerce and Explore Edina, with proceeds benefiting the Edina Crime Prevention Fund. A week later, on Sunday, September 20, the Edina Car Show fills the district from noon to 4pm with collector and specialty vehicles displayed throughout the walkable retail node, an event whose charitable proceeds support the Rotary Club of Edina and which counts Lakes | Sotheby's International Realty among its local sponsors.
Behind those two headline dates sits the same rhythm the district has kept for years: an early-October Fall Festival at Nolan Mains Plaza with pumpkin painting and a llama petting zoo, a trick-or-treat afternoon later in the month, and the tree lighting that always lands on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. None of that depends on which chef is leasing which corner storefront this particular year.
That's the actual takeaway if you live near this intersection. The restaurant row is being rebuilt by people making calculated bets on ten-year lease cycles and shared parking deals, which means the businesses will keep turning over on a schedule you can almost predict. The festival, the car show, and the holiday traditions are run by neighborhood associations and volunteers with no lease to renew, which is why they haven't moved in years and probably won't. If you're trying to figure out what 50th & France will actually feel like a year from now, watch the calendar, not the construction signage.
If you're weighing a move into this corner of Edina and want a read on how a specific block or listing fits into what's changing here, The Debbie McNally Group can walk you through it. Schedule a private consultation whenever you're ready to talk specifics.
