"We apologize but Maggie's will be closed to the public 9/18-9/22. Please come check out the new look when we reopen."
That was the whole announcement. According to Wayzata.com, the restaurant's Facebook post never mentioned Gordon Ramsay, even as production trucks, television equipment and crew filled the area around the building and a crowd gathered out front hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
This fall, Wayzata's restaurant news has come mostly from places residents already know. Maggie's reopened with a new look. Eloise came back as Bar Eloise. A pizza and cheesesteak shop moved into the old D'Amico & Sons space at Cross Creek. And the one newcomer on the calendar is a grab-and-go cafe. In each case the change points the same way, toward a downtown table that is easier to walk up to on a Tuesday.
Five days behind closed doors
Maggie's has a long history to protect. Nick Homan opened it in 1979, and his son, Scott Homan, runs it now. Wayzata.com describes a family restaurant that serves breakfast all day, plus lunch, pizza and Italian and American dinners.
Signs of the production showed up more than a week before the doors closed. On Sept. 11, a woman who said she produced a "Gordon Ramsay Led Series" left Wayzata.com a voicemail. She said the crew planned to film downtown and nearby during the week of Sept. 14, and she was trying to reach the Wayzata Yacht Club about a sailing event set for Sept. 18 to 20. The producers wanted B-roll of the race for an introduction that would show viewers where the episode takes place, along with footage of the landscape, historical areas and Lake Minnetonka.
The show's title still hasn't been confirmed. Wayzata.com reported that MPR got no answer from Fox Entertainment about which program it was, so any guess about the name or an air date is speculation for now.
The doors reopened on Thursday, Sept. 24, which Bring Me The News called a new chapter for the restaurant. FOX 9 reported changes to both the space and the menu after 47 years in the community. The restaurant is introducing new dishes while keeping its original menu "for now," moving at a pace that suits the team. So a regular who orders the same breakfast every week walks into a refreshed room with a familiar menu.
Eloise rebuilt itself around the walk-in
Maggie's got its refresh in five days on camera. Eloise planned its change over a summer. Owner Lindsay Pohlad closed the restaurant from Monday, Aug. 31, through Thursday, Sept. 3, and reopened it Friday, Sept. 4, as Bar Eloise. Wayzata.com reported that the new name, interior and menu came out of guest feedback. In the team's words:
"Over the last few months, we've listened closely to our guests, and one message came through clearly: they love the food and the spirit of Eloise, but they want a place that feels easier to drop into, more casual, and more connected to the neighborhood."
The physical changes follow from that. The bar has more seats and high-top tables, with televisions for anyone who wants a game on. A large front window opens the dining room onto Broadway Avenue. A good share of the indoor seating is held for walk-ins. The menu takes cues from Pohlad's sister restaurant, The Grocer's Table, and adds shareable plates, handhelds and hearty entrées, while guest-favorite dishes, desserts and the cocktail program carry over. The Star Tribune named some of the additions, including a burger, a lobster roll, steak frites, local draft beer and nonalcoholic cocktails.
On July 21, the Wayzata City Council voted 4-0 for a seasonal sidewalk café permit that adds about 468 square feet to the existing 165-square-foot patio, almost four times the original outdoor footprint. That makes room for roughly 28 more guests and runs south along Broadway into the public right-of-way in front of Chico's. Pohlad told the council the first patio was built mainly for cocktails and appetizers when Eloise opened in 2024, and customers soon started asking to eat full meals outside. "Everyone wants to take advantage of every opportunity they have to sit outside," she said, as Wayzata.com reported. Most of the new outdoor seats are held for walk-ins too.
The permit is one-year only. Wayzata.com's coverage of the council vote notes that it covers the 2026 season and goes back to the City Council for renewal each year. Whether that patio returns next summer is a council decision.
The Star Tribune's October 5 restaurant roll call confirms the relaunch happened on schedule and lists Bar Eloise at 326 Broadway Av. S. The restaurant's website currently lists Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which is an hour longer than the window announced in August. In August, Wayzata.com reported evening hours of 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with the restaurant closed Mondays.
Same addresses, new roles
Bar Eloise put the idea into words, but the other changes this year follow the same direction. Here is where things stand as of mid-October 2026.
| Spot | Address | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks | 810 Lake St. E., Cross Creek | Took over the former D'Amico & Sons space | Opened May 29, 2026 |
| Bar Eloise | 326 Broadway Av. S. | Relaunched as a more casual, walk-in-focused room with a larger patio | Reopened Sept. 4, 2026 |
| Maggie's Family Restaurant | Downtown Wayzata | Refreshed space and new dishes, original menu kept for now | Reopened Sept. 24, 2026 |
| Parcelle | 641 Lake St. E. | Planned grab-and-go cafe on the lakefront | Expected in 2026, no date announced |
The Star Tribune describes Tono's Wayzata spot as the chain's 12th location in seven years. Wayzata.com covered its grand opening in June. The same roll call reports that Parcelle, an organic cafe with its flagship in northeast Minneapolis, plans to open the small Wayzata lakefront location this year. Its second location, on the first floor of LaSalle Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, opened July 6, so the Wayzata cafe would be its next step outward.
A pizza-and-cheesesteak counter now fills a large Cross Creek space. A Broadway restaurant built around cocktails added TVs, a burger and seats it won't book in advance. A 47-year-old breakfast spot updated its room and kept the dishes people come for. The only new name planned for the lakefront is a cafe where you grab something and go.
Two nights on the same streets
The walk-in approach gets its biggest tests on the nights downtown fills up, and two are coming.
- Wayzata Boo Bash Dash + Boo Blast, Saturday, Oct. 24. The Wayzata West Metro Chamber lists the event downtown, with pre- and post-race activities on the Great Lawn at the Promenade and trick-or-treating from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Light Up the Lake, Friday, Nov. 20, 5 to 7 p.m. The City of Wayzata lists a parade of lights along Lake Street and a town lighting ceremony at Panoway Plaza.
Light Up the Lake runs along the same Lake Street that holds Tono and the future Parcelle, and it finishes at the plaza by the 1,200-foot Panoway Lakewalk, which The Wayzata Scoop reported complete and open in July 2024. It starts at 5 p.m. on a Friday, an hour after Bar Eloise opens for the evening under the hours reported in August.
If you want something to watch for over the winter, the Chamber's events calendar has already posted the 2027 Wayzata Chilly Open for Feb. 6. Parcelle's opening date is still open, and the Bar Eloise patio permit has to go back to the council for renewal before another season.
At Regan & Hornig, we follow changes like these on Lake Street and Broadway because what happens in a downtown's restaurants shapes how the surrounding blocks feel day to day. If you'd like to talk about what Wayzata's evolving downtown means for your own plans, schedule your private consultation.