Some restaurant closings feel sudden. This one feels like a long, heartfelt goodbye.
Gardens of Salonica in Northeast Minneapolis has announced it will close in November 2027, giving longtime regulars more than a year to return for one more meal.
A neighborhood institution sets its final timeline
Owner Anna Christoforides said the decision is tied to a personal milestone, noting that she will be 70 and wants time for other passions, including a cookbook, poetry and painting. That makes this less of an abrupt shutdown and more of a planned farewell for a restaurant that has been part of Minneapolis dining since 1991.
Gardens of Salonica began with Anna and her husband, Lazaros Christoforides, selling Greek spreads and dips at local art fairs. They later expanded into catering before opening the restaurant on 5th Street Northeast, building a business that grew steadily over 37 years without losing its intimate, neighborhood feel.
That long run matters in a city where restaurants often come and go quickly. Even as condos rose around the area and the dining room expanded in capacity, the restaurant kept its identity as a local favorite rather than a polished chain-like operation.
Why Gardens of Salonica mattered to Minneapolis diners
The restaurant stood out for more than longevity. Its light-filled dining room featured distinctive stone and metal sculptures, giving the space a visual identity that regulars in Northeast Minneapolis came to know almost as well as the menu.
It also helped broaden the city’s understanding of Greek food. At a time when farm-to-table cooking rarely overlapped with global cuisine, Gardens of Salonica worked with locally sourced ingredients while serving Greek dishes, creating a combination that now feels common but was far less typical in earlier decades.
Another major part of its legacy was wine. The restaurant built an unusually deep list of Greek and regional bottles, something that set it apart in Minneapolis and introduced many diners to wines they likely were not finding elsewhere in the city.
One more year for regulars to say goodbye
The restaurant’s final chapter has extra weight because Lazaros Christoforides died in 2022. After the pandemic, Gardens of Salonica continued operating with limited hours, making this closing feel connected to both family change and the broader reshaping of the restaurant business.
Anna Christoforides has made clear that she wants fans to have time to return before the final service in November 2027. That advance notice is rare, and it gives generations of diners a chance to revisit a place that has anchored 5th Street Northeast for decades.
In that sense, the farewell fits the restaurant itself. Gardens of Salonica is not disappearing in chaos. It is taking a final bow with the same warmth, personality and sense of occasion that helped define Greek dining in Minneapolis for 37 years.
