If you’ve been to the
Rainforest Cafe at the
Mall of America, you might have wondered -- how on
earth did someone come up with this idea and turn it into a reality?
You
may not have realized that the person who was behind the Rainforest Cafe is
here in the Twin Cities and, in fact, has an extensive set of ideas just
waiting to come to fruition. Or at least to come to a restaurant near you, but
the concepts are already developed and being fine-tuned in a series of
warehouses in Golden Valley.
Meet Steve Schussler, founder and CEO of
Schussler Creative. The company’s motto is
“Inventions, Ideas, Contraptions and Dreams,” and boy, does Schussler Creative
live up to that. I recently had the fun of touring their office and warehouses,
getting an advance view of restaurant concepts already up and running, and
several more in the making. It just goes show, you never really know what
awaits you inside a nondescript suburban warehouse.
Rainforest
critters aren’t the only creatures that have attracted Schussler’s attention. Among
his offerings is a restaurant at the Disneyworld Animal Kingdom in Florida called
Anandapur Yak and Yeti, serving pan-Asian food.
Also associated with Disney is the
T-Rex Prehistoric Family Adventure .
Developing
the T-Rex concept lead to an unexpected partnership between Schussler Creative
and the
Build-a-Bear
company.
A smart move on their part, the Build a Dino now
accounts for a large part of retail sales at T-Rex. But Schussler Creative
isn’t only about Disney. In Pennsylvania, hot dog fans can find their favorites
at the
Hot Dog Hall of Fame.
It doesn’t have to be a completely new concept, after
all, Schussler is the force behind the revamping of the old Wagner’s Drive-in
into the new
Galaxy Drive-in in St. Louis Park. (Note to dog
owners -- your canine friends are not only allowed, but welcome and eligible
for a free ice cream cone, or you can purchase a mini burger just for them.)
Come summer, get your snow cones at the Drive-In from the Jolly Trolley, a
vintage snow-cone truck.
But there are so many other designs Schussler is
developing that don’t have a location, yet Schussler continues to pour his time
and considerable talents into working them out. For example, what Harry Potter
fan (or
MagiQuest fan) wouldn’t love to have a meal at
the Sorcerer’s Kitchen (currently the staff meeting room for Schussler
Creative)?
Cozy up to the bar at Aerobleu.
This
jazz bar is based on a fictional Parisian bar in the 1940s, a concept Schussler
discovered after finding replica posters advertising the original (but not
real) Aerobleu.
Or check out the Asian concept, Zi.
Complete with millions of dollars worth of antiquities
purchased from China.
But I think my hands-down favorite is the
one that took the concept of “ice bar” to an entirely new level.
The Polar Ultra Lounge, a fully contained ice building
with ice couches, ice chairs, and an ice bar, well-stocked with very cold Grey
Goose vodka. And the ice changes color. That’d be well worth bundling up for.
What
else is happening in our state? Be sure to check out the 10 p.m. Sunday night
WCCO newscasts, where you can learn more in the weekly segment, Finding Minnesota.
