Murray's Reopens After 5-Week Renovation

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Murray's Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge in downtown Minneapolis has reopened with a fresh new look.

"I think we've worked very well together to create a place where old memories will be revived and new memories made," said Tim Murray, the restaurant's co-owner.

Walking into the restaurant, one can immediately see the changes. There's now walls of wine racks and a new U-shaped bar with a larger lounge.

"We actually brought back the old U-shaped bar to our restaurant we had many years ago," Murray said. "We created a bigger lounge area with better seating for diners, which has become very fashionable these days."

In the dining room, they changed the seating to create a more "upbeat, busy vibe". They also added two private dining areas that can accommodate 20 people per room, or they can join together for 40. Murray says he received a number of calls to do private dining, but they unfortunately had to turn them away.

Murray's -- known for its famous "silver butter knife steak" -- opened at its current location on 26 South 6th Street in 1946. The restaurant had its last extensive renovation in 1984.

"Back then, we pretty much did the same thing, redoing the bar and dining room," Murray said. "We felt it was appropriate to change to be more in tune with what today's diners are looking for."

The reopening is somewhat bittersweet for Murray and his family. Last July, Pat Murray, 72, passed away from bladder cancer. He died as the renovation was getting started.

"He was involved with the initial planning stages of this," Tim Murray said. "It's unfortunate he couldn't be around for the reopening. He would have loved what he saw here."