The dining landscape of Winona is about to get a great new feature as Nosh Scratch Kitchen nears its opening in a newly renovated downtown building. Minneapolis Star Tribune food critic, Rick Nelson discusses the upcoming opening in a Q&A column published on January 11th.
In response to a reader’s question asking, “Anything new on the horizon?” Nelson delves into a discussion of Nosh’s big move from Lake City, Minnesota to its new home at 102 Walnut Street in Winona.
Nelson writes, “One project that’s particularly exciting is south of the Twin Cities. Chef Greg Jaworski is in the process of moving his (terrific) 14-year-old Nosh Restaurant from Lake City, Minn., to a historic building in downtown Winona. He’s renamed the place Nosh Scratch Kitchen (102 Walnut St.), and is hoping to open by the end of the month, with a plan to continue his lively take on seasonal, locally sourced fare.”
According to the column Nosh will begin its schedule with dinner service Monday through Saturday, and informs that once the new Fastenal opens its downtown office headquarters it may expand into lunch. Nelson quotes Chef Jaworski as saying, “That’s a dream of mine, not working on Sundays.”
Jaworski closed his Lake City Nosh Restaurant last July in anticipation of its move to Winona, where it will be housed in a freshly renovated space on the corner of Walnut and 2nd Streets. The space previously housed WC Printing, and has been under construction for new uses for about 2 years, falling slightly behind schedule. Jaworski addresses this, telling Nelson, “It’s a cool building, with great bones, but it’s an old building, which is why we’re six months behind schedule.”
While the new space Nosh will occupy doesn’t have the same river view that it had in Lake City, Jaworski is excited to renew the restaurant’s focus on the menu, telling Nelson, “It doesn’t have the unbelievable view of the Mississippi that we had in Lake City, so we’re turning the focus to the plate. We’re going to find out what’s more important: the food, or the view. It’s going to be a fun challenge.”
Needless to say, Winona is excited for both this new dining opportunity as well as the renovation of another historic downtown building.
You can read Rick Nelson’s full Q&A column here