Barbecue and live music find a home in the Harrison neighborhood
Animales BBQ Co. opened on Oct. 23 in what used to be the Royal Foundry Craft Spirits Building on Fremont Avenue in the Harrison neighborhood. Photos by David Pierini
By Melody Hoffmann, Reporter
Animales BBQ Co. has traded in its food truck for a 12,500 square-foot restaurant. Its fresh barbecue will now be served out of the former Royal Foundry Craft Spirits building attached to La Doña Cervecería Brewery.
The restaurant’s opening night was Oct. 23, with live music by Al Church. Northside blues legend Cornbread Harris performed Oct. 25.
The jump from a food truck to a massive space may seem like a risk, but according to founder Jon Wipfli, it was just the space they needed.
“Barbeque generally relies on volume to make the numbers work,” Wipfli told North News. “So you need to have a decent amount of seating.”
The restaurant seats over 200 people, and an outdoor patio that opens next year will seat 80.
Mixologist Audra Lewis pours a Stone Pit Fashioned, a blend of Old Grand Dad bonded bourbon, apricot demerara and peach tincture.
Wipfli was interested in the building back in 2022 when Royal Foundry first closed. But the distillery got a brief second life in early 2023. In that time, Animales BBQ couldn’t find another building that suited its needs.
The large, cozy space features a kitchen for preparing the team’s nationally recognized barbecue, a full bar, a creative kids’ room, and a stage for live music in partnership with Rich Henriksen of the music club Berlin.
When Henriksen came on board with his live music programming, the building made even more sense.
“To make that a real experience, we needed to have some room to do it,” Wipfli said. “This building was great for that.”
Henriksen’s involvement includes 61 percent ownership in the company, with founder Wipfli retaining 39 percent, according to City of Minneapolis records.
There will be live music at Animales BBQ every night, and the performances are free. Donations for the musicians are welcome through the restaurant’s Toast app, Venmo, and cash.
Wipfli also hopes the central location will bring in people from across Minneapolis.
“It’s really close to everything. I don’t think people have realized that yet,” Wipfli said, noting it’s a 10-minute drive from Northeast Minneapolis, its birthplace.
The once mobile barbecue joint made its name outside of Able Seedhouse + Brewery until roughly the end of 2021, and then at Bauhaus Brewlabs in Northeast until the food truck closed down this summer.
The Animales Burger trailer also opened at Bauhaus Brewlabs in 2022 and became a weekly staple. But the Animales Burger regulars don’t have to worry about tracking when burger night is anymore.
“Burgers every night,” Wipfli said.
The menu is loaded with unique takes on cocktails and barbecued and smoked meats, including the Jerk Dog, featuring a grilled hot dog on a milk bun with jerk mayo.
The expanded space also means an expanded menu. Beyond Animales’ day-of smoked meat, the menu also includes sides like crab hushpuppies, sandwiches like a turkey BLT, and salads like a ribeye churrasco salad.
The restaurant’s drink menu features craft cocktails and beers, available by the glass or pitcher, as well as wine, non-alcoholic cocktails, and sodas. The restaurant adds a service charge to the food and drink prices, so customers don’t need to tip.
Animales BBQ is located at 241 Fremont Ave. N. and is open Thursdays-Fridays 4-10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m.-9 p.m. The full food menu is available Thursday-Sunday, 4-9 p.m.