Walk down Broadway Avenue on a Thursday night this month and you'll notice something that wasn't there a year ago: a wide-open front window at 326 Broadway, spilling light and conversation onto the sidewalk. That's Bar Eloise, and the window is the point. For the better part of two years, downtown Wayzata offered reservation-focused, dress-up-a-little dining. This fall, one of its most talked-about restaurants shifted toward a more casual, walk-in-friendly format, with a front window that opens onto the sidewalk.
Recent restaurant changes are reshaping the downtown dining mix. Here's a closer look at what changed and the different dining options taking shape.
What Changed at 326 Broadway
Eloise opened in downtown Wayzata as an evening-only fine dining room from Lindsay Pohlad, the restaurateur behind The Grocer's Table next door. It ran Tuesday through Sunday, reservations through Tock, a menu built around fine dining technique. It was the kind of place you planned for.
As Wayzata.com reported, Eloise shut down Monday, August 31 through Thursday, September 3 for what its team called a light refresh, and reopened Friday, September 4 under a new name and a different premise: Bar Eloise. The report said the team had listened to guests who loved the food but wanted a place that felt easier to drop into and more casual.
The details back that up. The new front window opens completely, creating an open connection between the dining room and Broadway. A substantial share of both the indoor tables and the expanded patio is held for walk-ins, not reservations. There are TVs in the bar now, extended bar seating, and high-tops built for the kind of night where you didn't plan to stay this long. Sunday brunch began September 20 and runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a daypart the old Eloise never touched. The new hours run Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m., closed Mondays.
Even the patio expansion tells you something about intent. Because the new seating area extends past the restaurant's own storefront, the city treated it as an unusual request, but staff approved it after confirming the walkway still measures slightly more than six feet, clearing Wayzata's five-foot minimum for pedestrian clearance. That's not a detail restaurants usually fight for unless they expect a lot of foot traffic to actually stop and sit down without calling ahead.
Destination Dining in Downtown Wayzata
To understand how the dining mix is changing, it helps to consider the destination-dining options already part of downtown Wayzata.
Macanda opened on the shore of Lake Minnetonka a couple of summers ago, a year after its sister restaurant Josefina, both partnerships between local restaurateur Aaron Switz and Minneapolis chef Danny del Prado. Macanda leaned all the way into destination dining: a Tulum-inspired interior, a 120-person four-season patio, hydraulic doors that turn the space into a late-night record bar. Switz has talked openly about the ambition behind it, saying he wanted people to feel like they were walking into a resort on vacation, not just eating dinner in Wayzata.
That ambition showed up in city records too. The Wayzata City Council spent part of this summer weighing a special event permit for HIFI on the Lake, a two-night outdoor electronic dance concert planned for Macanda and the Boatworks area near the Wayzata Depot. City staff actually recommended denying it. The council approved it anyway, on a 4-1 vote in June, after tabling the request once already. The proposed concert was one example of large-scale event programming considered for the lakefront.
Bar Eloise's new format offers a different way to dine downtown.
The Quieter Second Signal: Parcelle's Takeout Window
The Eloise change isn't the only data point. In January, Minneapolis chef Kamal Mohamed confirmed plans to bring his fast-casual, organic cafe Parcelle to the Wayzata lakefront as its first suburban location, an 800-square-foot grab-and-go space designed for takeout rather than a sit-down meal. Mohamed said the format was built around picking up something easy before a lakeside walk or a spot on the patio, and that the move reflected demand from suburban regulars who were already driving into his Minneapolis flagship. He said he was hoping for a spring opening.
Whether that specific timeline held is worth checking before you plan a trip, since restaurant openings shift. But the shape of the concept matters regardless of the exact date. Parcelle is designed for a different kind of visit: a quick stop on the way somewhere else, with no reservation required and no full meal expected.
Together, the changes point to more casual dining options: Bar Eloise has shifted its format, while Parcelle was planned as a grab-and-go cafe.
How Wayzata's Dining Options Are Changing
The downtown dining mix includes destination restaurants such as Macanda and Josefina, as well as options suited to a spontaneous stop. Bar Eloise's walk-in seating adds the latter, while Parcelle's planned takeout cafe would offer another casual format.
The range can shape how a night out unfolds: planned dinners and events suit some occasions, while walk-in seating, casual meals, and takeout can make spontaneous stops easier. As Wayzata.com reported, the team said guests wanted a place that felt "more connected to the neighborhood." That request helps explain why the restaurant now offers more walk-in seating.
This Week on Broadway
If you're deciding where to go this month, here's what's actually true right now:
- Bar Eloise is open at 326 Broadway Ave S, Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m., closed Mondays. Sunday brunch began September 20 and runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- The expanded patio is in and mostly held for walk-ins, so it's a reasonable bet even without a reservation.
- Macanda and Josefina remain the pick if you want the occasion-dinner version of Wayzata, complete with lake views and a reservation.
- Parcelle's lakefront cafe was planned as a spring opening for grab-and-go food near the water. Worth a quick check before you build a walk around it.
The changes add more range to downtown Wayzata's dining mix, with options for both casual visits and special occasions. A walk down Broadway can help you decide which suits a given night.
If you're a longtime Wayzata resident who's started wondering what your own home would be worth in a market that keeps evolving like this, or if changes like these have you thinking about what's next for your household, Zachman Realty Group knows this stretch of Lake Minnetonka block by block. Move Forward With Confidence, whenever you're ready to talk.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
