WILLMAR - The Green Mill Restaurant reopened this week to rave reviews, according to its general manager.
“People love it,” Tim Mattern said. “We’ve gotten great reviews as far as the overall look of the restaurant. … We try to talk to every guest, and we’ve been getting good feedback.”
The restaurant and bar have been moved and remodeled, and the former bar area will reopen as a sports bar later this year. “We’ve completely changed everything,” Mattern said. “It’s not just a little renovation.”
The restaurant at 2100 E. Highway 12 expanded by taking over the former Roosevelt Room and extending out another 40 feet to make space for about 250 customers, he said. The Roosevelt Room is no longer the taxidermist’s dream it was, as the animals have been removed.
One highlight is the 43-foot straight bar with added tap lines, giving the bar the opportunity to add local or Minnesota brews. “People love the interior of the bar,” he said. “It’s a great place for happy hour.”
Other new additions are two LED tiled fireplaces and an expanded outdoor patio. The bar has six 50-inch TVs and two 101-inch projection TVs.
The patio has room for 45 to 50 customers, and it has heat lamps overhead to allow people to eat outdoors earlier and later in the year. “You know how us Minnesotans like to hang on to summer as much as possible,” he said.
The menu has not changed, as that’s set by the Green Mill franchise. That means the restaurant will continue to offer its popular pizza along with dinners, burgers, sandwiches and appetizers.
Most of the dishes served in the restaurant are made from scratch every day, with many ingredients provided by local suppliers, he said.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
The Green Mill remodeling is part of owner TPI Hospitality’s major redevelopment project in Willmar. In addition to the revamped restaurant/bar area, the project includes a new Holiday Inn Express, formerly Comfort Suites, which opened in November 2013; a new Best Western Plus, formerly the Holiday Inn, set to open this month; a redesigned Willmar Conference Center to open in late May; and a Ruff’s Wings and Sports Bar to open in late summer this year.
TPI Hospitality also owns and operates Green Mill restaurants in Fairmont and Shoreview. A new location in New Ulm is under construction and scheduled to open this fall.
