While other restaurateurs see the suburbs as a culinary wasteland, Tony Donatell has been quietly building a small empire in the far reaches. It started with a strip mall gas station in Eagan, where he opened a family-friendly spot, Burgers and Bottles. Taking it up a notch, Donatell built a speakeasy in the back, known as Volstead House, which became the whiskey den that Eagan had been pining for. He’s been taking over empty chain-restaurant spaces and redesigning them around smoked meats and a high-octane bar program: The Bourbon Butcher in Farmington, Whiskey Inferno in Savage, Tequila Butcher in Chanhassen, and most recently The Mezcalito Butcher in Apple Valley. But he’s not coming past 494/694. Look for the Farmer and the Fishmonger in a reimagined Ruby Tuesday’s in Apple Valley next.