Four cow statues now stand outside 3801 Minnesota Drive. Inside the building, a former Fuddruckers, the walls are a deep green. Most of the kitchen has been closed off, with one exception: a 10-foot wood-fired grill burning Minnesota hardwood in full view of the dining room. This has been Smack Shack Steak since Sept. 15.
A short drive away, at 4400 W. 78th St., the Two Marketpointe building is waiting on Donatelli's, the White Bear Lake pizza house that has been making thin-crust pizza since 1976.
The two openings have something in common. Both are established Twin Cities names that changed their approach to fit a suburban dining room near I-494 and France Avenue. One retooled a seafood concept around steak. The other is bringing a classic Italian American menu from the opposite end of the metro. Both, as it happens, have been on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."
Why a lobster restaurant bought a 10-foot grill
Smack Shack began in 2010 as a food truck parked in Minneapolis. Co-owners Josh Thoma and Kevin Fitzgerald then built it into a seafood brand with locations in the North Loop, at Rosedale Center and inside The 1029 Bar in Northeast Minneapolis. The Bloomington location opened in December 2021, according to the Sun Current.
Pioneer Press food writer Jess Fleming explained the change plainly in her Sept. 21 dining diary. She wrote that the Bloomington outpost "wasn't quite catching on with suburban eaters," and that "the obvious answer to this conundrum is steak."
The grill is the centerpiece of the change. Fleming reported that Thoma drove to Abilene, Kansas, with a trailer to pick up the new grill himself. Executive chef Ben Pichler said in the restaurant's announcement, as reported by the Sun Current, that he was "really looking forward to getting back in front of a wood-fired grill and showing the Twin Cities what a difference cooking over Minnesota hardwood can make." The beef is USDA Prime, and the pork is locally sourced Duroc.
The seafood stayed. That includes the lobster mac and cheese that, per the Sun Current, made Guy Fieri walk off camera and smack a wall during his "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" visit. Fitzgerald still called the Bloomington location "very much its own concept." The checkered tablecloths gave way to dark linens, and the drink list expanded with more wine, bourbon and martinis.
What the menu says about the new direction
The prices show how far the restaurant has moved. The lobster roll is the dish the business was built on, and on the current Bloomington dinner menu it costs $3 less than the cheapest steak.
| Item on the Bloomington dinner menu | Price |
|---|---|
| Lobster roll | $37 |
| Hanger steak | $40 |
| 6-ounce filet | $54 |
| Ribeye | $75 |
| 32-ounce porterhouse | $135 |
These prices come from Smack Shack's Bloomington dinner menu as posted in October 2026.
The 32-ounce porterhouse is clearly meant for sharing. That suits a building Fleming said is "big enough to easily accommodate groups" and has "ample parking." She counted both among the best things the location kept from before.
Fleming's table ate four cuts: New York strip, filet, ribeye and porterhouse. The strip was her favorite, and she described the beef as "perfectly kissed with that woodfire smoke, but not overly smoky." The 16-ounce pork porterhouse is the dish she said her table "could not stop oohing and ahhing over." For sides, she recommended the sweet corn gratin with andouille sausage, the collard greens, and whole mushrooms topped with a caramelized onion beurre blanc. If you're worried about leaving smelling like a campfire, she reported that the ventilation works.
The 2 to 6 p.m. window
A $135 porterhouse isn't the only way in. Smack Shack's posted hours include a weekday happy hour:
- Happy hour: Monday through Friday, 2 to 6 p.m.
- Happy hour pricing: food at $6, $8, $10, $12 and $18 price points, drinks from $6 to $13
- Kitchen: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
- Bar: open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
The kitchen opens at 11 a.m. every day, so lunch is an option too. For anyone working in the office buildings off 494, the 2 p.m. happy hour start leaves time to stop in before the evening traffic builds.
Donatelli's comes south
The second change on the west side comes from the other end of the metro. Donatelli's says it started in 1976 as a small pizza shop in White Bear Lake, and it still emphasizes pastas, sauces and pizza made from scratch. The Star Tribune's Aug. 4 preview noted that the restaurant was also featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Its Italian American menu covers classic thin-crust pizza, pastas, sandwiches, pizza turnovers and burgers.
The Bloomington location takes over the former Ike's Food & Cocktails space in the Two Marketpointe building at 4400 W. 78th St. The opening date has already moved once:
- Aug. 4, 2026: The Star Tribune preview said to expect a September opening.
- Oct. 5, 2026: The Star Tribune's restaurant roll call still listed Donatelli's under "Announced - Coming Soon."
- Oct. 23, 2026: The Minneapolis Chamber has scheduled a grand-opening ribbon cutting for the new Bloomington location.
A ribbon cutting is a ceremony, and it doesn't necessarily mark the first day of service. The doors could open before Oct. 23 or a little after. Donatelli's own site is the best place to check for the confirmed first day.
The current White Bear Lake menu gives a good preview of what to expect in Bloomington: thin-crust pizzas and the pizza turnovers the restaurant is known for.
Two openings, one direction
Put the two together and the west side's dinner options look different from a year ago. Neither restaurant is a new chain or an untested concept. One is a Minneapolis brand that, by a food critic's account, looked at how its suburban location was doing and rebuilt the menu around beef. The other is a nearly 50-year-old north-metro institution betting that the thin-crust pizza and turnovers that worked in White Bear Lake will work just as well off West 78th Street.
They also cover very different nights out. Smack Shack Steak works for a group steak dinner around a shared porterhouse, or for a weekday afternoon happy hour. Donatelli's, once it opens, offers pizza, pasta and burgers in the familiar Italian American style. Between them, Bloomington's side of the Edina border now has more choices than before for nights that don't call for a trip into Minneapolis.
Also on the near-term radar
A few other changes near the west side and the Mall of America, all from the Star Tribune's Oct. 5 roll call:
- Mooni Mooni, 7575 France Ave. S., just over the line in Edina, is now open. It specializes in Japanese-style cheesecakes baked daily and also serves egg tarts, butter mochi, boba milk tea and gelato.
- Sweetgreen opened Sept. 8 in the Mall of America's Culinary on North food court on Level 3.
- Amorino, the Parisian gelato brand, has announced its first Minnesota location for the north end of the mall's first floor.
- Fire & Wave, an all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant, is planned for the east side of the mall's Level 4 and expected in spring 2027.
At The Kent Group, we keep track of what opens near the homes we help Bloomington families buy and sell, from a new grill on Minnesota Drive to a ribbon cutting on West 78th Street. If you live near 494 and France and want to know how your home's value compares today, we're glad to put together a home value estimate for you.
