“Modern Texas Style” Sports Bar/Restaurant Coming to West St. Paul

November 14, 2024
Kevin D. Hendricks

Thanks to Dakota County for their support.

A new family sports bar/restaurant is coming to West St. Paul in the former Wooden Tub laundromat space at 1570 Livingston Avenue.

“My goal with this project is to be a premium family sports bar for the patrons of the West St. Paul area to enjoy a great atmosphere and amazing food,” said owner Antoine Awaijane in the city application for a liquor license.

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Food: Awaijane is working with his chefs to finalize the food concept, but described it as a “modern Texas style,” that will have tacos and tapas but also American food with a southern fusion style. They’ll be taking a trip to Austin and Houston in Texas to do market research and finalize the menu.

Entertainment: “It’s going to be an amazing looking location,” said Awaijane. “It’s definitely going to be a fun spot.” He described lots of TVs, sporting games, meat raffles, pull tabs, and potentially bingo.

Proposed floor plan of sports bar/restaurant.

Details:

Opening: Awaijane does not have a specific opening date planned yet, but is looking at sometime in 2025.
Name: The name of the restaurant has not been revealed yet.
Jobs: They anticipate six to eight employees at peak hours.
Parking: There are 34 parking spots on site, which is less than the currently required 42 spots. However, at the same time a proposal is coming forward to lower that requirement, and this would be compliant with the new minimum. Awaijane also has a parking sharing agreement in place with neighbors.
History: Awaijane previously owned a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis and currently owns Turitto’s Pizza with locations in Inver Grove Heights and New Brighton. He lives in Brooklyn Park but grew up in the area and has family still in the area.

Timeline:

Renovation work started on the former Wooden Tub this past summer.
Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on November 19 for the liquor license, which will then go to City Council.
Remodeling work will start after that with an expected opening sometime in 2025. The work isn’t scheduled yet, so Awaijane couldn’t be more specific about an opening date.