David Fhima has been vocal about his belief that downtown Minneapolis companies need to call back their workers, so he led by example, reopening his Seventh Street restaurant Fhima’s for lunch after Labor Day. There are painfully quiet days, to be sure, but Fhima, who also serves as executive chef for the Timberwolves and the Lynx, is determined to be part of the recovery. Dinner service at Fhima’s is steady and trending ahead of pre-pandemic levels. “Downtown is the heartbeat of our state,” he says. “We need for that to be healthy.” Next stop: North Loop. Fhima bought the historic Ribnick Furs building and is remaking it as a French brasserie, with a basement speakeasy and upstairs event center; it’s slated to open in winter. Two suburban outposts of his Mother Dough bakery are also in the works for 2023.

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