DeRusha Eats: Tracy's Saloon
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – For the past three weeks, DeRusha Eats has been highlighting bars that have surprisingly good food.
This week, Jason DeRusha visited a neighborhood saloon that survived a renovation surprise that any homeowner can relate to.
Jason DeRusha eats in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis at Tracy's Saloon.
Chef Sam Roiland's creations probably would have been out of place when Tracy's Saloon opened on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis 35 years ago.
Creations like the expertly blended berbere spice mixture with prawns on a platter of golden beets.
It's not quite what you expect to get at a bar and saloon in Minneapolis.
"I was in corporate America," Sanjaya Wanduragala, owner of Tracy's Saloon, said.
Sanjaya Wanduragala was in finance, but that wasn't the long-term plan.
"Me and my wife had a goal of opening a food-focused bar," Wanduragala said.
In 2006, they heard that Tracy's was up for sale. They got a small business loan and became bar owners.
"As a finance guy you had to know that buying a food focused bar is a terrible idea," DeRusha said.
"It is a challenging business. But it's also very interesting," Wanduragala laughed.
Challenging because just selling wings, burgers and Miller Lite wasn't going to make the business last.
"If you don't stay relevant, it doesn't matter how long you've been established. You can be done," Wanduragala said.
So now, they have a huge whiskey list and 18 craft beers on tap.
"Now it's Summit, Surly, Indeed Brewing," Wanduragala said.
The menu has also evolved, offering dishes like a killer meatloaf that is loaded with herbs and wild rice.
The Brussel sprouts are bathed in a tequila lime sauce, and for $7, are a steal.
"You feel like you're eating something healthy because its Brussel sprouts, but you're not. And I feel really good about it," DeRusha said.
But Tracy's faced quite a year.
"It's been an extremely challenging year," Wanduragala said.
In December 2013, Tracy's closed with plans for a three-week spruce-up.
"We wanted to do a pretty modest remodel. Which is what we had the budget for," Wanduragala said.
Instead, the contractor found problems with the roof.
"We had to get a structural engineer and an emergency loan that basically quadrupled our budget, and our debt," Wanduragala said.
It took two and a half months, but every employee came back to work.
And Tracy's - as it has for 35 years- survived.
"We want to give an experience where you feel like you're coming to a saloon. You feel like it doesn't have to be your wedding anniversary and you can come every week and feel relaxed about it in a weather you're in a business suit or you're wearing shorts," Wanduragala said.
Jason said that Wanduragala came to Minnesota from Sri Lanka as a child, so one of his top sellers is this subcontinental red curry.
Curry and beer actually go quite well together and it's fairly common to see in British pubs, just not so common here.
