Restaurateur Kim Bartmann has worked for years to create menus that reflect her personal values, making organic and locally produced food a staple in kitchens at Barbette and Bryant-Lake Bowl.

Now, the entrepreneur is applying those same values to the construction of The Red Stag, a Northwoods-style supper club set to open this summer at 509 First Ave. NE in the East Bank neighborhood. The exact opening date is uncertain, but to celebrate the eventual opening, the NorthEast Minneapolis Business Association (NEBA) a June 9 block party kicks off not only Red Stag, but a series of monthly NorthEast Nights in the NEBA area. (See Featured Event.)

The Red Stag will be the first restaurant in the state built to meet the standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the national standard for green building.

In the shell of a former sheet-metal shop, workers are currently piecing together the supper club using recycled materials and some new technologies like low-electricity lighting and energy-efficient heating, cooling and ventilation.

As with many eco-friendly building projects, the construction methods cost more than traditional building, but Bartmann said the extra investment “makes very good business sense. I think that, overall, this process is going to pay back,” she said, “because people are going to care about it.”

It’ll also make a difference on her utility bills. Although she’s shelling out for a water heater that’s more than twice as expensive as conventional models, the design only heats water when needed. Bartmann expects to cover her costs through energy savings within a year.

She’ll also save on lighting. The space will be illuminated with strands of LED lights, which are “astronomically more expensive,” she said, but use up to 90 percent less electricity.

The project earns points toward LEED certification by old-fashioned reuse and recycling, as well. Last month, Bartmann salvaged some dumpster-bound marble and booths from the City Center Marriott Hotel. The booths will be reupholstered for use in the Red Stag.

John Eckley, the restaurant’s landlord and the owner of City Salvage next door, recently scored a set of front doors from the Wyman Building in downtown that will go onto 509 First Ave. NE.

“We’re going to try to use as many Minneapolis landmark pieces as we can,” Eckley said.

As with Bartmann’s other restaurants, the green focus will carry over onto the menu. “In my other two places, we focus on using ingredients from local farmers, and we’ll continue to do that here as much as we possibly can,” Bartmann said.

Chef Billy Biskin is working on the menu and talking with area farmers about what fresh ingredients will be available, she said. The food will be a contemporary take on a Northwoods-style supper club, including steaks, fish and chicken.

Laurence Bricker, who works in the neighborhood, said the area is bustling over lunch hours, and there’s good demand for quality lunch places.

“I think it’s another step in this vitalization that’s occurring in that neighborhood,” said Bricker, chief creative officer for Popular Front, an interactive communications firm.

And if Barbette and the Bryant-Lake Bowl are any indication of what the new club will be, Bricker said, “I think it’s going to be a really cool hangout.”

last revised: June 6, 2007

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