Fhima’s Minneapolis restaurant at City Center ends service, leaving another vacancy in historic dining room

Fhima’s Minneapolis no longer operating at 40 S. 7th Street

Fhima’s Minneapolis, a French- and Moroccan-influenced restaurant in downtown Minneapolis’ City Center, has ended operations, bringing another change of tenant to one of the city’s most distinctive dining rooms. The restaurant occupied space at 40 S. 7th Street, a ground-level location connected to the downtown skyway system.

The closure removes a full-service option from a part of downtown that has been working to rebuild foot traffic and nighttime activity amid shifting office patterns and a still-evolving retail mix in the core.

A prominent room with a long record of restaurant turnover

The dining room is widely known for its preserved Art Deco interior associated with the former Forum Cafeteria, which operated downtown for decades and is frequently cited in local architectural and restaurant histories. After later iterations under multiple operators, the space has repeatedly been repurposed by successive concepts, reflecting both the visibility and the operational challenges of the site.

Fhima’s Minneapolis opened in the late 2010s as part of chef David Fhima’s return to a signature downtown location, with a menu that blended French technique with Moroccan and Mediterranean influences. In recent years, the business promoted updates to its space and offerings, including a remodeled interior and revised menu.

Part of a broader restaurant portfolio still active in the metro

The Minneapolis closure does not eliminate the broader set of ventures associated with the Fhima family and related businesses in the Twin Cities market. Public records and prior reporting tie the group to additional hospitality concepts, including bakery and café operations downtown and a French brasserie in the North Loop, as well as a newer restaurant project in Excelsior that has been under development in recent years.

What happens next for the space

No immediate successor tenant has been publicly confirmed for the City Center dining room. The location’s history suggests that new concepts can move in, but timelines depend on leasing terms, buildout requirements, and the ability to staff and sustain a high-cost, full-service operation in the downtown core.

• Address: 40 S. 7th St., Minneapolis (City Center)
• Setting: ground-level, skyway-connected downtown corridor
• Space profile: landmark interior associated with the former Forum Cafeteria

The closure adds to a continuing pattern in downtown Minneapolis: highly recognizable restaurant rooms can remain commercially difficult to operate consistently, even when the space itself is a draw.

City Center’s broader tenant mix—and downtown’s restaurant landscape—will determine how quickly the site is repositioned and whether the next operator pursues a similar destination model or a different approach tailored to current downtown demand.