New restaurant planned for downtown Prior Lake

Prior Lake American

Residents spoke and the city listened: A new restaurant is planned for downtown Prior Lake.

In the 2017 community survey, 49 percent of residents said Prior Lake had too few dining options and 71 percent were in favor of financial incentives to attract development.

The Prior Lake City Council approved a business subsidy agreement at the Dec. 11 meeting to ease costs with redeveloping a property on Main Avenue into a 3,500-square-foot restaurant with a 725-square-foot patio.

The costs would be funded through tax increment financing and economic development authority reserves used toward demolition, soil corrections, storefront facade, sidewalk and curb work, street lighting and utility connections, according to a news release.

The restaurant will be known as PLate on Main and will likely open in October 2018. The restaurant will be a branded, upscale American eatery.

“We really do want it to be a community-based restaurant, so we thought the name was perfect,” Bill Peterson said.

It will be a family affair — Bill and Lori Peterson will partly own the business and son Andrew Peterson will design the building.

“I would say the ideas have been brewing for a long time,” Bill Peterson said. “The timing really seemed good based on what the city was asking for and what the community can support.”

The other part of the restaurant will be owned by community members involved in the restaurant industry.

Bill Peterson said the owners are aiming for a downtown Wayzata or a downtown Excelsior feel in Prior Lake.

“They’ve got very vibrant feels,” Bill Peterson said. “We would love to work with the city and jump start that part of town, that’s one of our goals.”

Zeman Construction Company will build the restaurant, which will likely have a modern aesthetic, Bill Peterson said.

“The building designer is my son ... and his designs are typically more of a clean, modern design so you’ll see clean lines in the restaurant and a little bit more of a modern feel,” Bill Peterson said.

The Petersons finalized the purchase of the land in the fall.

“We’re going to have a local neighborhood feel, that’s part of our goal, but we would also like to become recognized enough that we attract people from other communities so we’re attracting people downtown for the other businesses,” Bill Peterson said. “Our goal is to be supportive of the downtown.”

Peterson said the restaurant would seat about 130 people inside, plus an additional 40 on the patio and would serve steaks and seafood, among other options.

“We want to be a welcoming environment for everyone in the community,” Peterson said. “In other words, if you wanted to go out for an anniversary dinner and want something fancy, we can provide that and we’d love to provide that.”

The restaurant would serve budget-friendly meal options, too, he said.

The city’s planning commission approved a height variance for the restaurant during a meeting on Dec. 18. The code requires a building be 25 feet tall but since it will be a one story restaurant, it will be built to 17 feet.

Editor Rachel Minske contributed to this report.